MGLN: Corruption
by Kode Dekka
Summary: In the 81st year of the New Mid-Childian Calender, a powerful darkness from long ago reemerges. Once again, its up to the aces of the TSAB to fend off the new evil, which threatens to destroy everything they hold dear. Rated T. AU/Canon Combo.
1. Prologue

_A/N: As promised, my new story, which may just be the final one I write for Nanoha. This story is the result of an awesome dream, and hours of intensive research. I literally downloaded the entire Nanoha wikia, pretty much all 414 pages of data about the Nanohaverse. For hours at home I read, studied every character, magical term, world, device, spell, faction, everything. With my research complete, I believe I am ready to tackle this. _

_The story itself, will be structured in 8 parts. The prologue, 6 chapters which compose the main story, and the epilogue. I have completely planned out the entire story, and know every detail about how I want things to progress and end. To say the least, this is the hardest I've ever worked when writing a fanfiction. _

_Last but not least, I want to explain the timeline a little. This story takes place about a year before the events of Nanoha Force, though its running sort of parallel universe, so even after this story, those events wont come to pass, you'll understand why when the story ends. Anyway, enjoy this new story, the fruits of all my labor. _

_- Kode-**Dekka**  
_

* * *

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: **Corruption**

By Kode-Dekka

**Prologue:** The Birth of **Darkness** And The Ruined World

* * *

A long time ago, there existed a beautiful world. The land of Al-Hazard. It was seen as magical, it was a place where the greatest miracles were possible.

During its early years, when the citizens first discovered magic, a powerful family arose who possessed the greatest level of mana. With the advent of magic, they slowly by surely took over the world, and became its rulers for the next thousand years.

During those years, the bloodline of the royal family became thinner, and their magical energies, weaker. They feared that they would eventually lose their power and be removed as the world's leader. At the same time, the magic they discovered grew, and more advanced technologies became possible. So as the current king and his family worried about growing weaker, the citizens and the land as a whole continued to get stronger.

And then a miracle happened. The queen gave birth to a pair of males. Unlike previous generations, the two of them had more magical potential than any other before them. The two sons, Raius and Raios, were then trained since birth to take over the throne.

During the course of their childhood, Raius' magical ability increased even more, and it soon became clear that he was superior to his brother. By the time he was ten, it was already decided that Raius would succeed the aging king. Raios, who had always lived in the shadow of his brother, found his heart being consumed by rage and jealousy. However he never said a word, and quietly kept his feelings inside, they grew and grew over the years.

When the king finally died, Raius succeeded him as planned, becoming the new ruler of Al-Hazard. This made the darkness in Raios' heart overload, and pushed him over the edge. On the night of a new moon, He finally let his anger consume him. He took a sword, he skulked into his brother's room, attempting to take the new king's life. His plan was foiled by a servant who had spotted him. It didn't take long before he was captured and put on trial, to which he was punished harshly. Openly in the streets, the king declared that Raios, his own twin brother, be banished from the main city, and forced to live in the desert for the remainder of his days.

For a week, Raios wandered that desert. With no food and hardly any water, he found himself withering away. In just a few days time, it was clear that he would die.

That's when he heard a voice. It was weak, as weak as he was. It spoke to his heart, the tone of the voice slithered, as if it was a snake talking. Compelled by its calling, he headed toward the mysterious voice. At the end of his journey, he came across a black stone. It had several markings on it, and it was very strange, considering its location. The voice whispered to him from the stone, and called again to him. The moment that Raios touched the black stone, he felt overwhelming energy flow into him. It was so much at one time, that he found his consciousness fading.

When Raios awoke again, he found himself in an unfamiliar bed. As it turns out, a woman had wandered into the desert, straying away from her village. She found him collapsed on the sand, holding the rock.

For a week, she nursed him back to health, Raios immediately fell in love with her kindness and beauty. The feelings became mutual, and they started to live together not long after. The magical stone, had remained quiet during that time, though it had left a dark burn mark on his palm.

With a new happiness, Raios was able to forget his hatred of the king. His beautiful woman, Kirye, became pregnant with his child. His life was complete, and he needed nothing else.

But then, on a dark day with no sunlight visible, soldiers of the king invaded his new home. The village was overrun by Raius' men, who were there to take supplies from the hardworking people. Raios refused to let this stand, and convinced those around him to turn away the soldiers. A bloody battle occurred, and many lives on both sides were lost, including Kirye, who was slain in the confusion.

When Raios discovered the dead woman, his rage exploded once again, and his old hate of the king resurfaced. The voice returned to him as well, calling to him, telling him to destroy everything. With the help of the unknown and ancient magic that the stone possessed, he killed all the invading soldiers, and saved the village, though it had suffered heavy losses. The people were angry, and pushed the blame onto him, as he was the one that goaded them into conflict. Raios, having lost everything dear to him, was ready to take responsibility through death. The stone refused to allow that, and filled his heart with even more darkness and even more power.

With his strength, and with startling magic, Raios proclaimed that he would atone by killing the king who destroyed their village, and would take over as the new ruler. Quickly gaining followers in the village, he spread his message across the land to the other cities and towns. In time, he amassed an army, and was ready to wage war.

On the day the war began, countless lives were lost. Both sides relentlessly attacked each other, using both magic and mass-based weaponry. This war, which prolonged itself, stretched to a year. King Raius, with his superior technology, was able to create stronger weapons for use, and soon turned the tides in his favor. In desperation, the stone granted Raios even more power. Soon he became swallowed by it, and used the dark magic to cause mass devastation.

There was no end to the war in sight. As the forces and weapons became more powerful and dangerous, the more ruined and barren the world of Al-Hazard became. Eventually, the world began to self-destruct. Earthquakes and violent weather ravaged the planet.

At this time, Raius decided that he had enough, and couldn't allow his brother to live any further. With the world being ruined by war, Raios seemed to only become more powerful, as if the darkness of the world was being consumed by him and turned into energy. The magic stone explained that it was the true "power of darkness".

The war came to an end soon. Raios, who had become a being of immeasurable power, destroyed the capital city of Al-Hazard. In no time, the war would be won, and a new rule of darkness would begin.

Raius, knowing that he couldn't let that happen, forged a new and dangerous magical technique. Giving up his own life in exchange, he managed to seal away his brother and the darkness of the stone within a dagger that had been passed down throughout the generations.

The war had come to an end, but both the king and his brother had died; leaving the planet in disarray and misery. And yet, things only got worse. Because of the excessive use of magic and weapons, and the king's final spell, Al-Hazard was finally dismantled from the inside out. A large dimensional rip tore up the night's sky in the aftermath of the battle.

On that day, both Al-Hazard and the dagger which contained the sealed Raios and the power of darkness, disappeared into the disturbance. The lost world would never be seen again, and would eventually be regarded as a myth among mages far and wide.

However, the sealed dagger, containing a powerful darkness with no equal, would eventually surface on the cursed world of Belka. And one day, far into the future, the horrible events that destroyed Al-Hazard, would threaten to occur again.


	2. A New Enemy Appears!

_A/N: This was finished a lot faster than I thought it'd be, mostly because it is likely going to be the shortest chapter of the story (excluding the prologue and epilogue). That said, this will set up the story. I really hope everyone likes this, I'm really enjoying it myself. _

_- Kode-Dekka_

**

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Chapter** 1:

A New **Enemy **Appears! The Power of **Darkness**

* * *

"_Come to me..."_ A voice filled the air. _"Come to me..."_ A young man with white hair listened to the voice, but couldn't pinpoint the location. In the first place, he was very drunk right now, and just wandering aimlessly through the streets of Cranagan, the capital city of Mid-Childa. _"Come to meee..." _The voice drew itself out, like the hissing of a snake.

"Who's there?" He didn't know if he was just hearing things because of the alcohol, but the voice felt very real.

"_Save me..." _

"Where are you?"

A feeling flowed through the man, and the voice became louder and clearer to him. He was finally able to figure out where it was coming from. There was an alley to his side, so he entered it, and found nothing.

"_Come...Come... Come... to me..." _The snake-like voice called him further into the alley.

"H-Hello!" He stumbled as he walked, his intoxication was really getting to him now. Still, he proceeded, as if compelled to by an unknown force.

Eventually, he reached a dead end, a silver dagger lay on the ground at his feet. _"Pick me up... help me..." _

"This...?" Curious, he reached down to the dagger. When his fingers touched the hilt and gripped it, a searing pain burned his hand. "Arghhhhh!" He wanted to let go of it, but it was stuck on his hand, and he had no control over his body. A bright light emitted from the tip of the blade, and the pain became even more unbearable. As the fiery burn on his hand increased, his screams pierced the night.

* * *

Hayate Yagami was seeing a dream. Right now, she was 9 again. It was _that_ night, when the Book of Darkness activated, and the four Belkan knights, the Wolkenritter, appeared before her. On that night, a wondrous show of light lit her room, as the four were expelled from the book.

During that night, and during this dream, Hayate never noticed it; the silver dagger that was released from the book at that time. That dagger, which left the house and disappeared into the night's sky.

As she saw this dream, it started to change. Now she saw an awful landscape. The barren land looked as though it had been through a nuclear attack. Fires raged, buildings crumbled. It was all familiar. This place, which was being consumed by fire, was Mid-Childa.

She suddenly woke up from the harsh nightmare. By the time her eyes opened, the dream had already disappeared and she no longer remembered it. All she had left was the dark chill in her heart. _What is this feeling?_ She had never felt anything like it, this horrible sensation. However, it soon passed, it was like it never happened. _Oh well..._

Hayate shook her head and cleared her thoughts. She focused on the sunlight pouring in through her window, and the body huddled against her. Vita, her favorite knight and one of her best friends. She smiled and poked the woman's cheek, just light enough so that it wouldn't wake her up. _Hehe, she's so cute._ She poked it some more, enjoying the feeling of having her so close.

Even though they slept in the same bed, they never did anything other than cuddle. Hayate was unsatisfied with their current relationship, but it was alright for now. _All I need is your cute sleeping face, Vita._

Hayate then closed her eyes and pulled the blanket over her face. It was morning, and she should be getting up, but she was feeling a little lazy at the moment. _Five more minutes..._ She thought to herself before falling back into a deep sleep.

* * *

Hayate sat in her office, sighing as she filled out a bit of paperwork. _This is boring, nothing ever happens here._ It had been three years since the _Mariage_ incident, and not much has happened since then. Small criminals and pathetic mages doing random and petty crimes wasn't very interesting to her, she did have her standards after all.

Not that she wished anything would happen, since it was always such a hassle to deal with. However, without any super criminals, or natural disasters, her talents as a mage weren't getting put to much use, she was mostly just a officer these days. _So boring~_ She wanted something exciting to happen, or at the very least, a vacation.

They say that you should be careful what you wish for.

Just as Hayate was pondering what to do with her day, an earthquake rocked the Long Arch, the building in which she was in control of. Afterward, another smaller shake, and another. It was like the earth had gone mad.

"What the hell is that!"

The door to her office slid open, Vita and Griffith appeared, alerting her that there was trouble. What was happening was no earthquake, someone was attacking them. Right away they left, Vita and Hayate prepared to set up. _Whoever is disturbing my peace right now, is going to regret it!_

* * *

Nanoha and Fate were taking a leisurely stroll together when they saw the explosions in the city. At that point, Raising Heart and Bardiche started beeping.

"**Master."**

"**Sir." **

They looked at each other and nodded.

"_Set Up!" _

Putting on their barrier jackets and transforming their devices, they took to the skies right away and flew toward the disturbance.

As they glided through the air, Hayate's face appeared in a distorted hologram.

"Hayate, what's going on?"

"Someone...Long Arch...Quickly...Come Qui..." The monitor disappeared. They didn't catch everything, but the message was clear, someone was causing trouble on their day off, which was unacceptable.

"Lets go, Nanoha."

"Right!" The two of them started to fly faster, accelerating even more when they saw another series of explosions. Nanoha concentrated solely on the task at hand, but was still worried about her friend on the battlefield. _Don't worry Hayate, we're on our way!_

* * *

When Nanoha and Fate arrived, the site of the Long Arch, looked like it had put through hell. The surrounding buildings were demolished, and the Long Arch itself wasn't in very good shape.

They noticed Hayate first, who in unison mode with Rein, she was also using Schwertkreuz for support, sticking it into the ground. It was a large party. Vita and the other knights were there. Dieci and Subaru were also there as well. With the addition of Fate and Nanoha, there were 9 top level magic users present. The two who had just arrived, wondered just what they were up against to warrant so many people.

In the end, it was just one guy with snow white hair. He carried a small dagger with a silver blade, and was clad in dark clothing. His eyes seemed to be pitch black, as if they were darkness itself. Speaking of darkness, his weapon was emitting a large amount of very dark magical energy.

All nine of them, against this one guy. At first Nanoha didn't believe it, that any one person would be worth this much effort. Then she saw Hayate, who was catching her breath, part of her barrier jacket was blown away.

The man stood silently, just watching as they gathered together.

"What's going on?" Nanoha again checked Hayate's condition, which was improving a bit at a time.

"He came out of nowhere and just started blowing things up. He's a tough little bugger, Nanoha-chan. There's something really off about him too."

Signum moved in front of them and unsheathed her sword.

"I'll say," The red-haired woman said. "This entire time he's just been targeting the mistress. When we strike, he ignores us, there's also a strange barrier that's stopping all our attacks, probably a special defense spell." Nanoha nodded, that's all she needed to know. Whoever this person was, he was likely after Hayate. _Well, that's no good. _She thought. If he wanted to get to her, then he was going to have to go through all of them first.

The nine of them. Signum, Shamal, Hayate, Zafira, Vita, Subaru, Dieci, Fate and Nanoha, stared down the man. They were friends, so if he wanted one of them, he was going to get all of them.

"Futile, the dark power will be mine." The man finally spoke, and then raised the dagger, pointing it at the large group. "Shadow Crusher." A jet of black energy zoomed toward them. Nanoha and Vita went up ahead.

"Tank Shield."

"Round Shield."

They used a double defense spell to intercept the attack. The beam of dark matter smashed against their spell. Both the mages felt the strength of the blast, and was amazed at it. Unfortunately, their spells weren't strong enough, and the black stream broke through. There was little time to react before it struck the ground in front of them, releasing a wave of dark energy that formed a cloud of blinding smoke.

When the smoke from the attack cleared, the man was gone and no where to be found. "Where did he go?"

Hayate's cry answered that question. The man took advantage the confusion to use high speed movement. Right now, his hand was placed against Hayate's chest. "Become mine, powers of darkness." An explosion of dark mana came from his hand, striking the mage. She wasn't knocked back, but simply held in place as the energy hit her.

"Hayate!"

"Mistress!"

Vita, Shamal, Signum and Zafira rushed the man and unleashed a slew of attacks. The man's mysterious barrier stopped them, no matter how hard they stuck, they couldn't reach her. Everyone else stood powerless, only able to watch as the man reached his hand into her body.

Nanoha didn't want to just stay quiet, so she was about to give him a taste of her Divine Buster, but stopped when the attack ceased, and he dropped Hayate. Something weird happened. Rein was expelled from her. Hayate's barrier jacket disappeared, and then both she and her device reverted to their original forms.

A cloud of black matter on the man's hand, and to everyone's surprise, the Book of Darkness disappeared from the ground, and appeared between his fingers.

"Thats-"

"The Book of Darkness..."

The man smirked and moved suddenly, too fast for them to see. He reappeared several feet away from the mages. "Now, the time has come, to plunge this world into darkness."

"Like we'd let you!" While Shamal tended to Hayate, the three other knights attacked him. He didn't move, nor did he put up any kind of barrier to protect himself, he just stood there, grinning at them.

The Book of Darkness glowed, and the Wolkenritter stopped in their tracks. Afterward, they turned around slowly, looking blankly at everyone else, their eyes empty.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Fate said, taking a step forward. Signum reacted and dashes, attempting to strike her with Laevatein. The blond barely managed to block it with Bardiche. "Hey, I'm your ally, remember." Signum wasn't listening to her words, it was like she couldn't hear them.

A similar thing occurred, Vita and Zafira started to attack Dieci and Subaru. Shamal and Rein, who were just looking after Hayate, left her side and went over to the man.

_What's going on?_ Nanoha didn't understand. Somehow, this man was using the Book of Darkness to control her friends. That didn't matter, she had to put an end to this before someone get seriously hurt. Since everyone else was preoccupied, it was up to her.

"Raising Heart, are you ready."

"**All is Green, my Master." **

She nodded and held Raising Heart at the man. "Starlight..." Energy started to gather to her device, forming a pink ball of light. She was going to end this in a single shot. "BREAKER!" She shot her signature attack.

It was useless. Before it could hit the man, Shamal and Zafira used a powerful dual barrier to block it. Again, the man disappeared from her sight the second she took her eyes off him. _Damn it, where is..._ Nanoha felt a strong presence behind her, but it was too late to turn around.

With speed that she's never seen before, the man was behind her. He took the dagger, the tip of it turned black. He thrust it forward, striking her in the back. With this stab, Nanoha felt a dark sensation pulsing in her, filling her up. It was painful and she cried in pain. As she cried, the fighting stopped. All of the mind-controlled mages, ceased attacking.

"Nanoha!" Fate used this chance and and took a swing at the man, but he ducked it and disappeared. Holding Nanoha in her arms, Fate and the others watched Hayate's familiars and the mysterious man take into the air.

"Farewell, we'll meet again." He said in a deadpan tone. He and the brainwashed Wolkenritter vanished into the night.

Everything was a disaster. Nanoha was severely injured, Hayate was unconscious, her knights and the Book of Darkness stolen from her. The area around them was also completely destroyed. It was a small consultation, but the ordeal was over for now, at least they hoped so.

They had no idea, that the worst was yet to come.


	3. The Pitch Black Infection

_A/N: Somehow, I managed to get the second chapter done yesterday. This one will go more in depth into the villain's scheme, as well as show that not everyone is quite so distressed over this recent incident. Also, things only seem to be getting worse for Nanoha and Hayate. No more spoilers, enjoy and await the next chapter, which promises to be completely hectic. _

_- Kode-Dekka_

**

* * *

Chapter** 2:

Silver Dagger of The Ancient **Kings** – The Pitch Black **Infection**

* * *

Within a castle, in a pocket dimension outside of conventional space-time, a young man with white hair sat on a throne. His name was Weiss, he was the current master of the Silver Dagger of The Ancient Kings, a powerful lost logia from the destroyed world of Al-Hazard. This weapon, while once being an heirloom passed down through the generations, was now a destructive object, containing the dark spirit of prince Raios, the man who contributed to the end of the ancient world. He was sealed within the dagger, along with the timeless power of darkness, which corrupted his soul thousands of years ago.

Over time, the seal was weakened, and the evil power had started to leak out. On Ancient Belka, before its eventual collapse, it was placed into the Book of Darkness. When Hayate Yagami awakened the book, the dagger was released and zipped through dimensions, looking for a suitable source of magic.

It made its way to Mid-Childa, the new dominate force in the multiverse. There it found Weiss, a down on his luck drunkard. When he touched the lost logia, he allowed its power to enter his heart. The voice of darkness, and prince Raios, have given him a mission. He was to finish the job that time couldn't, and remove the seal on the dagger entirely. For this, he would need to spread the power of darkness to the far reaches of the universe. He would corrupt the linker cores of all mages, and use their magical powers as a sacrifice to begin the ritual, where he would implant Raios' spirit into a suitable vessel.

He must move fast, the preparations to destroy the seal must be completed by the time the next lunar eclipse arrives on Mid-Childa. That was approximately three weeks from now, so time was incredibly short. In order to spread the dark powers, he must first obtain a method of accessing dimensions quickly. Right now, the seal was still strong, it may have granted some abilities, but not nearly enough to do what needed to be done.

There was only one way. In order to spread the dark influence of the dagger, and free Raios' soul; he was going to have to use the technology that the Time-Space Administration Bureau possessed. Utilizing their multi-dimensional devices, along with the Book of Darkness that he now possessed, he would be able to corrupt linker cores anywhere and everywhere.

Weiss, who no longer had any free will, had no choice but to go through with this plan. He was going to open the universe to the powers of darkness, and revive the powerful entity. Everything was already going smoothly for him. The Wolkenritter, familiars created by the Book of Darkness, were under his control. With these powers, he would soon be able to start the next phase.

However, one last thing remained before that. The Wolkenritter, still resisted his control, their wills had not yet been completely broken. During the battle, he surprised them, so they weren't ready to put up a mental defense against him, that wasn't the case anymore. If he was to proceed, he was going to have to make them completely obedient to him. That would be solved soon, using the power of the dagger.

Weiss, who was sitting on the throne in this dimension created by the lost logia, the Valley of The Kings, watched the Belkan knights struggle to resist him. They were chained to a wall in the dungeon, constantly being assaulted by the dark influence of his powers. It wouldn't be long before they broke.

He noticed that Vita, the child, was resisting the most. The dagger possessing Weiss, was amused by this futile attempt. _"Struggle all you want, child of Belka." _The voice in the weapon cooed into the air, mocking her.

And so, Weiss, who was as empty as a doll, continued to watch.

* * *

Nanoha screamed as she was strapped down to a hospital bed. She struggled as much as possible, her body soaked with sweat, the restraints cutting into her arms and legs. It was a horrible sight to watch, most of her friends couldn't stand it, only Fate was able to stay, though it was killing her to see her best friend like that.

Ever since she suffered that wound from the mage who attacked them, she's been like that; screaming, in constant pain.

Finally, they injected her with a powerful drug that would put her to sleep. Even as she closed her eyes, she struggled. And still, even as she was finally asleep, her body shook with pain as she whimpered, as if she was having a bad dream.

After she was asleep, Shari comforted Fate in a private room. "What's wrong with her?"

"I'm not sure, but I promise I'll find out." That wasn't good enough for Fate, she needed to know right now why Nanoha was going through something so horrible. Shari, being a perceptive person, placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll definitely figure out what's wrong." That was her way of saying that they had bigger things to worry about, mainly the mysterious mage and the situation with the Wolkenritter.

Shari took off her glasses and cleaned them. She sat down in one of the chairs and put them back on, looking Fate in the eyes, she was dead serious. "We have a very big problem with Hayate, things are a lot worse than it appears."

"What does that mean? Is she going to be okay?" Shari nodded.

"Oh she'll be fine, kind of. Its her linker core I'm worried about, its gone."

"Gone! That's impossible!"

"Calm down, Fate-san." She said, adjusting her glasses again. "Whoever this guy is, used an unknown magic and stole her linker core, that's what allowed him to use the Tome of The Night's Sky. At least, that's my theory on this."

Fate was shocked to sat the least. Without a linker core, Hayate was just a normal human. "How do we get it back?" The glasses girl shrugged her shoulders.

"I imagine the only way would be to take back the Book of Darkness, where her linker core is likely being contained. No mage, no matter who they are, can sustain two linker cores in the same body, so it has to be properly stored somewhere. I'm guessing that whatever magic he used to take it, is the same one that's being used to contain it within the book."

That was all a lot to take in for Fate, who wasn't an expert on these kinds of things. "So all we have to do is get back the Book of Darkness?"

"Yes, probably." It wasn't very reassuring, but it was their only lead. The problem now was finding the person who did this, there's no telling where he could be. "I know what you're thinking." Shari smiled, tapping her head. "If I recall, this man said that he would be back, so I don't think you'll have to look very hard for him. All we have to do now is wait for him to make his next move, and get him then." Fate nodded. That was that, there was nothing they could do but wait. In the meantime, there was still the matter of Nanoha to take care of. That was making the blond anxious. Even now, Nanoha was in intense pain, she knew that; it was painful, it felt like her heart was being pierced.

"Shari-san." Shari's assistant suddenly appeared on a monitor in front of them. "You should come see this, it isn't good." The two shared a look, before Shari turned her attention to Fate, who's heart was in complete turmoil, she knew that it was about Nanoha.

"We'll be there in a sec." The woman on the other side nodded and ended disappeared. Again, Shari put her hand on Fate's shoulder. "Come on, lets go see what's up." The two of the left the office, and went back to Nanoha, who was now finally sleeping peacefully.

* * *

Shari and her assistant talked in private for a little while. Many times during this conversion, the glasses girl looked shocked; during those times she checked over the charts that were there, over and over.

Fate was getting nervous watching her. If Shari panicking like that, then the news couldn't be good. For now though she held Nanoha's had, clutching it tightly, feeling the woman's warmth. _Nanoha, please be alright. _She don't know if it was a reaction to her thoughts, but Nanoha's finger twitched, as if trying to squeeze. That only made Fate hold her hand even more tightly.

When Shari came up to her, the woman's face looked grave, like she was just at a funeral. "Shari, what's wrong?"

"This really isn't good. Fate-san, listen very calmly to what I'm going to tell you." She placed her hand on Nanoha's chest, looked sadly at Fate. "Nanoha's linker core is changing."

"Huh?" Shari removed her hand from Nanoha.

"Whatever this man did to her with that dagger, is turning her linker core black. That's why she's in so much pain, her linker core is being taken over by some kind of dark mana that is at odds with her own."

Fate calmly released Nanoha's hand, but what she wanted to do was cry in frustration. "What does that mean? What is happening to her?" Shari turned away from her.

"This mana is, lets say corrupting in linker core. That's not what I'm worried about though, the real problem is the fact that Nanoha's magical capacity is rising at an alarming rate." Shari, who looked like she was about to break down, gazed down at Nanoha. "Whatever this is, its making her stronger. That isn't bad, but Nanoha's magical potential should have peaked by this point. The problem is the rate that she's getting stronger, its similar to what happened when she was a child, her body isn't able to handle it."

Flashes of the mentioned incident came to Fate's mind. Nanoha, exhausted, exerting herself too much. And then, her linker core practically imploded on itself after being severely injured, leaving her unable to use magic and walk for months. That horrible incident was Nanoha's worst memory, and one of the scariest things Fate ever experienced.

"I see that you understand, but it gets much worse than that."

"How can it possibly get any worse?"

"If this corruption is left alone, and takes over her linker core, Nanoha's magic will double, maybe even triple. She'll go from an S+ mage, to a possible SSS, or even higher if that's even possible. When that happens, her body wont be able to take it, and will start to break down. Fate-san, if we let this continue, she'll probably die."

"What!" Fate yelled so loudly, that the ones who were outside listening, came rushing in. Subaru, Teana, Vivio and Einhart. Whoever else was there, remained outside, there wasn't much room for them anyway. Fate unable to contain herself anymore, suddenly grabbed Shari by the collar. "What do you mean! Don't just say 'she'll die' all causally! Do something about this, fix her damn it!"

"Fate-san, calm down!" Subaru went over to her and tried to pry them apart. It was only after Vivio came that they were able to make her let go. Shari didn't seem angry, or fazed at all, she was trying her best to be calm.

"I know how you feel, but violence wont solve anything. Please just listen. I don't know how to fix this right now, but I'll find a way, I swear my life on that. She's my friend too, you can trust me." Fate looked down at the floor, no longer struggling against her friends.

"I'm sorry, I know you will." That was the end of things. "Everyone," Fate said, still not looking up at them. "Can you leave me alone with Nanoha for a little while."

If anyone had any objections, they didn't voice them. The people in the room left, even Shari, who was the last person to see Fate. She quickly turned away from her, when she saw the woman crumple to the floor.

* * *

It was night now. Hayate looked outside her bedroom window. After being discharged from the infirmary, she returned to this place. She was depressed. After learning that her powers were gone, that she could no longer be a mage, it destroyed her.

"Set up." She said, nothing happened. "Set up." She held her device in her hands, but still nothing happened. "Set up, damn it!" When nothing happened, she threw the item in frustration. Her fingers pressed against the window as she cried.

A knock at the door interrupted her before she could really wail. "Its unlocked, come in." She wiped her eyes and released a sniffle sound as she turned, finding Agito floating toward her. "I'm surprised, I didn't expect you to come here." The small unison device grinned awkwardly at her.

"I never expected you to be the crying type."

"What do you want, Agito?" Hayate was losing her temper, but she understood that it wasn't Agito's fault, so she apologized.

"Its alright, I just wanted to see how you were holding up."

"Fantastic, never felt better." Hayate said being sarcastic, but her emotions quickly showed on her face.

"You're not the only one suffering. Everyone is depressed, even I..." She clamped herself shut, not wanting to say anything else. Hayate understood what she wanted to say, and reached out her hand to Agito.

"You miss her too, don't you?" She said, referring to Signum. Agito didn't say anything, but did fly into Hayate's hand. "No matter what it takes, we'll get them back, alright?"

"Yeah."

She sat down on the bed, still holding her little friend. Together the two of them looked out the window, gazing at the world's multiple moons in silence.

* * *

The "Three Legendary Admirals" of the TSAB; Largo Kiel, Leone Phils, and Midget Crowbel concluded a meeting, which took place to discuss the recent events. With the recent theft of the Book of Darkness, the hospitalization of the "Ace of Aces", Nanoha Takamachi, and the looming threat of an unknown force, they felt that an emergency meeting was necessary.

During that meeting, they tried to figure out what their next move would be, however everyone just argued instead. The only real thing they did was waste a lot of time, and put out a wanted poster of the mysterious mage that caused this mess.

After the meeting, a woman found herself in high spirits. Auris Gaiz, who had hated Hayate Yagami and everything she stood for, was very pleased to know that she was finally put in her place. She felt that this was her chance. Now that Hayate had no powers, and was no longer considered the strongest mage, she was nothing more than just another member of the TSAB. Without her power to give her influence, she was a normal woman, one that could be taken down easily.

It wasn't just her, several members of the bureau wanted her gone, and now that chance had finally arrived. The three admirals were also in the way, many wanted them taken care of as well.

Auris felt that the TSAB was in need of some new leadership. But, in order for the that to happen, the current one would have to be dismantled first. That's exactly what she was planning to do, but she was going to need a little help from the man who started this disaster. She had no idea how she would do it, but she was sure that an opportunity would arrive in the near future. Until then, she would wait. She was confident, her day was just beyond the horizon, waiting to be taken.

* * *

_A/N: Just a small note, Weiss means "White" in German, oddly enough considering. _


	4. Destruction! Weiss' Motive Revealed

_A/N: A very long chapter this time, takes up 10 pages in my word processor. Anyway, just reading the title should give you an idea of what to expect this time. There will be tones of action in this chapter at least, and of course this will be the halfway point, so the plot is starting to really get going. Also, I read the reviews, and saw that people wanted more NanoFate, so I threw you all a bone. This is only a small taste, so you can't have the rest until the end, okay? Anyway, next time this story will explore the meaning of its title even further than it does here. _

_- Kode-Dekka  
_

**

* * *

Chapter** 3:

**Destruction**! Weiss' Motive Revealed

* * *

After a few days, Nanoha started to feel a lot better. Despite the dark mana that was constantly battling with her own, she was adjusting a little more to the struggle. Three days after she was wounded, she was finally able to get through a day without crying in pain. Still, she was weak, and couldn't get out of bed. Whatever was happening to her, it was draining all of her energy, so all she could do was sit in a hospital and rest.

Luckily, she had Fate to keep her company for the time being while Vivio waited outside. Vivio was full of energy like usual, she hid her worry for her mother well. In order to keep herself distracted from it, she had Einhart entertain her.

Fate on the other hand, she was a whole different story. The blond couldn't stop herself from worrying constantly, not that there wasn't anything to worry about. In a single day, her best friend was badly injured; her other friend, robbed of her powers as a mage, even the Wolkenritter were now under someone else's control. To make the situation worse, the higher ups were starting to make certain suggestions, ones that would put her brainwashed friends on the TSAB's most wanted list. That list, was only just a stone's throw away from an execution order. So yes, Fate had a lot to worry about, but Nanoha always remained at the top of the list.

Speaking of which, they were currently engaged in a serious talk, it was about their next move. The Ace of Aces was always so hotheaded, so she wanted to save their friends no matter what, and as quickly as possible. Fate was different; Like Shari had said, their enemy would appear sometime, and they could use that chance to break whatever control he had. For now, she was far more worried about Nanoha's body than anything else. She voiced these opinions very clearly, which only served to piss the woman off.

"We can't just sit around and do nothing, Fate-chan."

"There's nothing we _can_ do right now Nanoha, all we can do is wait."

"That's not good enough! Have you forgotten that they're our friends?"

"No but..."

Their conversion came to a standstill at that point. There was no point to this argument. To suggest that Fate didn't care about her friends, that was something that the Nanoha she knew wouldn't do. The normal Nanoha would never had said that. _It must have something to do with that thing..._ Whatever that thing was, it wasn't just messing with Nanoha's linker core, or so Fate thought. She decided to let it go, there was no need to pursue this small burst of anger.

"I'll see what I can do, Nanoha, but don't put too much faith in me."

"Okay." After that, the tense atmosphere dissipated. "Sorry about being so grouchy, you know how much I hate being in a hospital."

"I know, Nanoha." Everything was fine now, and Fate could go back to being a worrywart. "Make sure that you get some rest, I want you to get better as soon as possible." But really, that all depended on Shari, who was still trying to figure just what to do about this.

"Fate-chan." Fate was standing by the bed, while Nanoha sat up and locked her blue eyes on the blond's red. Suddenly, Nanoha reached out her arms, wrapped them around Fate's neck, and pulled her close to her, making their lips touch. There was confusion abound in her head, but she didn't dislike it and made a move to kiss her friend back. However, by that time, Nanoha was already finished and pulled away. Both their faces were bright red. "Hehe~, sorry about that Fate-chan, I just felt like doing it."

"I-I-It's okay, Nanoha..." Nanoha's face softened up, a sad smile formed on her lips.

"I know about what's happening to my body. Yesterday I pretended to be asleep and overheard it, so you don't have to hide it anymore. Thank you for worrying about me, Fate-chan." Something was disturbing Fate greatly; the tone of Nanoha's voice, sounded like that of a person who was on death row. The way she said it, made it look like she'd already accepted her fate.

"Nanoha..." Fate was at a loss for words, all she could do was say Nanoha's name.

"Don't worry Fate-chan, I have no intention of dying just yet. I wouldn't be the 'white devil', if it was that easy, right?" She was smiling brightly now. Just a moment ago it sounded like she was giving up, but the determined look in Nanoha's eyes reassured Fate greatly.

"Yeah." She then flicked Nanoha's forehead playfully. "I have to go now, maybe this devil should get some rest while I'm gone." Nanoha saluted her and stuck out her tongue.

"Yes sir." They laughed together for the first time in days, it was a sound that Fate missed dearly. She then said goodbye and left the infirmary.

When Nanoha was all alone, she laid back on the bed, letting thee smile go away. She held her left hand to her heart, clutching her shirt tightly and doing her best to hold back tears as a result of the pain she was feeling right now. "Fate-chan..."

* * *

The night on Mid-Childa was rapidly approaching. Weiss had been watching the skies and waiting. A bit of knowledge that the dagger had given him told him to wait until tonight to act. For some reason that not even the spirit inside the dagger could explain, on the night of the new moon, the seal was a little weaker than usual.

For that reason, their next move had to be tonight, while things were in their favor. Tonight was perfect, for more reasons than just that. The four Belkan knights, had finally submitted to his will and no longer resisted. Even Reinforce, the unison device who had a human shape, eventually submitted. He hadn't chained her to the dungeon, but kept her with him at all times, to help him contain and control the power of the Book of Darkness.

Now that everyone was finally under his control, he wouldn't have to worry about any unneeded surprises. Weiss continued to wait, as he was told to, for the sun to set.

* * *

On the third night since the incident at the Long Arch – which was being repaired for the second time-, everything seemed to be quiet on Mid-Childa. For now, everyone who was available was stationed at TSAB HQ. There was another meeting happening, to which Hayate attended, though she wasn't given much time to speak. It was obvious that she was being discriminated against, but held her tongue. It was a lot harder to shut up Agito, who had accompanied her. Somehow she did it, and everything went smoothly.

On the outside, every precaution was taken. For guard duty, there was a large number of mages encircling the area. This included Fate, Subaru, Vivio, Einhart, Teana -who had returned after being called-, Dieci and Cinque. Erio and Caro were elsewhere, as were the remaining Numbers. Nanoha was still in the hospital, and the Saint Church was not getting involved this time. There was also a large number of TSAB enforcers and guards on the inside of the building.

They didn't know when anything would happen, but they were certain something would eventually. Until then, no one was allowed to take any chances, so the full power of the TSAB was employed to keep its members safe.

* * *

After the meeting was over, the three admirals in command of the TSAB retired to a conference room, to further deliberate matters. Everything seemed to be fine. All those who attended the meeting had left and were on their ways home. Hayate was going back to her room as well. Everything was quiet, peaceful, and no problems had arisen.

The night was _too_ peaceful. The mages outside were beginning to take notice of that, everything felt weird.

It was like a cliche from a movie; but just as they thought that nothing would happen, a hundred blue daggers rained down from the sky. Coming out of nowhere, the attack was hard to dodge, but when they sensed it, they safely managed to get away from it.

On cue, five figures came out of a distorted space from above. The four members of the Wolkenritter, and Reinforce herself. All of their eyes were completely empty as they stared down at their former friends.

Right away, the seven mages on the ground knew that they weren't just being paid a friendly visit. That became only more evident as Rein held her hand up in the air.

"Frigid Dagger." More blue daggers, made of ice, started to come down on them. At the same time, the other four moved out toward them.

"Everyone evade and engage!" Fate said, flying out of the way of the deadly spears. As soon as she got out of that pinch, she was forced to swing Bardiche in front of her, to intercept Signum's sword. The last thing Fate wanted to do was fight her, but she had no choice in the matter, and continued to defend herself.

Like a perfect killing machine, Signum moved quickly and precisely. The blond found that it was near impossible to block the attacks, which came in waves. _I forgot that she was this good with a sword. _She mused, deciding that a change in tactics was in order. "Bardiche!"

"**Sonic Move." **Fate moved at a speed so fast, it would be impossible for a human to track. It was unfortunate for her, that Signum was not human. As she zipped about, she came up behind the redhead, and swung her blade, using the flat side of it, so that she wouldn't cut her in half. Signum, without even looking, put the sword behind her and blocked the attack. _No way!_ Still stunned, Fate was further taken by surprise when Signum spun around and delivered a punch so hard to her chest, that the mage was blown downward to the ground.

Fate knew that something would be coming at her, so she quickly recovered. Catching Signum in her sights, speeding toward her, she thrust Bardiche forward, extending the blade up at her incoming opponent.

Signum didn't dodge, and did the same thing, thrusting Laevatein forward. Before the two swords could meet, Signum's device glowed bight red, and then transformed, turning into a snake like coil, which wrapped around Bardiche. The sharp tip of her blade, still pushed forward toward Fate, spinning around her weapon, which was completely bound. _Damn it!_ She tried to break it free, but it was no use. She only had two choices, abandon her device, or take a sword to the chest. Fate couldn't just abandon Bardiche, but time was running out.

"Fate-san." A shout came from her side. In the nick of time, Subaru came and grabbed the tip of Laevatein before it could hit. Her Mach Caliber stopped the attack completely, she used this chance to get a good grip on it, and pull. Signum was carried downward by Subaru's strength, who held her other fist back, ready to counterattack.

Signum simply muttered something under her breath. The blade glowed again, and reverted back to its sword form. Fate's device was released, she retracted it, putting it back to its original size.

"Thanks Subaru, you really saved me."

"No problem."

There was a big problem. Signum was still hovering above them. She took Laevatein, holding it sideways, and then grabbed her sheath, putting the two together at the hilt.

"**Bogenform" **Her device said. Fate had a really bad feeling inside, that feeling growing as the weapon transformed once again, this time into a bow.

"Subaru." She said calmly as she could.

"Yes, Fate-san."

"Be prepared to dodge, like you've never dodged before."

* * *

As Fate and Subaru fought off Signum, the others were having their own troubles. Vivio and Einhart had decided to take on Vita and Reinforce together. Their opponents were very good at long ranged spells, something that the two friends weren't exactly their forte. It was a huge disadvantage to them, as they were much better at close combat. This made things very difficult.

"Frigid Dagger"

"Swallow Flier"

Their dual attack came down like a storm, there was little time to dodge, so Vivio blocked instead. A powerful rainbow colored shield appeared in front of them, completely nullifying the assault. Vita and Reinforce may be powerful, but it would be foolish to underestimate those who also specialize in Belkan magic.

In order to go on the offense, Vivio and Einhart lunched up into the air together, trying to get close enough to fight properly. Both had entered their adult modes at this point, which would allow them to better use their magic. Vivio herself, was forming two rainbow colored balls of energy in her hands, getting ready to strike Vita.

It seemed only fitting for the two of them to face off, considering the knight had once been an enemy of her mama. And like her mama, Vivio was going to use all her strength, and try to knock some sense into her.

For Einhart and Reinforce, the unison device kept her distance, as she had very few short ranged attacks. When Einhart did get in range to attack, her opponent stood no chance, as without a master to unison, she was only ranked at a level of A+.

Vita was also only a AAA+, though its possible that she may have obtained an S ranking lately. However Vivio easily ranked S+, so it was no problem knocking Vita down to size. Once the brainwashed pair realized this, they changed things up.

While Vivio and Einhart were getting ready to strike the finishing blow, the two moved quickly all of a sudden, appearing side by side together. They touched hands, and started to shine brightly.

Vivio and Einhart waited patiently, while still being cautious. When the light show was over, only one person remained, Vita. Her hair color had changed, as had her eyes and barrier jacket. Without saying anything, Vita held out Graf Eisen in front of her.

* * *

Dieci, Cinque and Teana took on Zafira and Shamal. The three worked well together, Dieci and Teana used long range attacks to try and take down the two Wolkenritter. Unfortunately, this was going to be a long battle, as those two were both skilled in the use of barriers. Cinque was too, so she could easily protect them.

The problem was that this was the worst kind of match up possible. Neither side was really skilled with close combat, except Zafira, who taught martial arts. However, he would likely never get a chance to use any of his techniques, not with Teana releasing a relentless assault of attacks. So in the end, they were at a complete standstill. In order to end it, they would have to use an attack that was strong enough to break through the barriers and finish them off at the same time. There was only one spell that Teana knew which could do that, the _Starlight Breaker_, which Nanoha had taught her. If she could use that, then it would be possible.

But right now it wasn't a good idea. That spell collected the left over magic in the area. The battle hadn't gone on for nearly long enough to get enough power. If she was going to release a strong enough attack, then they were going to have to use as much magic as possible right now.

"Guys." Teana addressed the Numbers, who gave her attention, while trying not to let their guards down. "For the next five minutes, I want you to use as many spells as possible. Got it?" They nodded, even if they didn't quite understand the logic behind it. "Alright, lets go!" The battle continued, but everything would soon fall into place, where Teana would be able to end it.

At that moment, a large explosion occurred from inside HQ.

* * *

Weiss had slipped by all of the TSAB's defenses without a problem. Thanks to his distraction outside, none of the mages were able to sense him, or stop him for that matter. He tore a hole in the side of the building and entered that way. At once, he was confronted by several enforcers and grunts.

"Halt!" One of them yelled.

"You're under arrest." Another said. All of them had devices with him, raised and ready to fire. He stared blankly at them, materializing the Silver Dagger of The Ancient Kings in his hand.

"Fire!" They didn't wait for him to attack and fired all at once. He just put up a barrier and rendered the attack useless. Without a word he shot a stream of black energy at them, vaporizing them all within an instant.

When he advanced past the wreckage, a woman stood in the middle of the corridor, smirking at him. "Welcome, I was wondering what took you so long." Auris Gaiz crossed her arms, blocking his path.

"Are you going to stand in my way?" He said in a dull, emotionless tone. Auris adjusted her glasses, widening the smile on her face.

"Of course not, if possible, I'd like to be of assistance." She reached into her pocket, pulling out an I.D. Card. "I'm sure you would like to meet with the big bad bosses during this visit, shall I show you the way?"

Weiss didn't know whether to trust this woman or not, as it could lead to a trap. However, by using the dagger, he was able to see into her heart, which was black with resentment and revenge. He knew he could trust her then, and that would only make his job so much easier. With the power of corruption, he was going to break the seal. He first step to doing that, would be to take over this facility, and use its influence to open the hearts of the citizens to darkness. After he's done that, he can begin to spread it even further, thanks to the technology housed here.

"Very well." Was all he said, and Auris led him to the secret shelter where the three legendary admirals were being protected. It was there that he would use his powers to corrupt their linker cores, and their hearts, and use his dark magic to take over them.

* * *

In the hospital, Shari kept Nanoha company. They could hear the raging battle from there, and felt the explosions coming from within. The door was locked, but it could be easily blown open if someone wanted to.

Nanoha felt terrible. She wanted to get up from this bed right now, and join the others, who were putting themselves in danger while she lazed about. She remembered this powerless feeling, being stuck like this, unable to do anything. She hated it, and then she hated herself for feeling this way.

"Shari, help me up from this bed." She suggested, surprising the woman.

"You're crazy if you think I'm going to let you out of here." That was Shari's stance and she wouldn't budge. "You should rest, everyone else will be fine, they can take care of themselves." Nanoha knew that, but she also knew that it would drive her nuts to just sit her while everyone else fought.

_Sorry about this, Shari..._ Using the strength that she managed to recover, Nanoha created a small pink ball of light in the air.

"Nanoha-san, what are you doing!" Nanoha's eyes darted towards Shari, she lifted her finger, and waged it.

"Forgive me, Shari." The light hit Shari in the head, knocking her out, but not doing any serious damage.

Her chest hurt immensely, it was like her heart and linker core were on fire. _Just hold out for a little longer._ She used whatever strength she had to roll out of the bed, barely being able to stand upon exiting it.

"**Master." **Raising Heart called from the table beside her.

"I'm fine, Raising Heart, don't worry." Breathing in heavily, Nanoha took hold of her device, and held it in the air. "Set up!"

* * *

Vivio and Einhart were having a bit more trouble with Vita now that she had done a unison with Reinforce. At this point, she was probably at the same level of strength as them, but with a wider range of spells at her disposal.

Vita used combination attacks, using both the Frigid Dagger and Swallow Flier in succession. Eventually, the two mages started to take damage.

Fate and Subaru weren't faring much better. Signum was using one Storm Falcon attack after another. It was a powerful arrow that had a wide destructive range. Because of that, they had to put all their energy into dodging, and had no time to counter attack.

The only ones who seemed to be getting anywhere, were Teana, Dieci and Cinque. At this point in time, Teana was preparing to use her most powerful attack, the other two simply spammed spell after spell to hold off Shamal and Zafira.

There was so much magical energy flowing all around her, she could feel it. _I'm ready. _"Starlight..." Right away she started to gather energy into a red ball. She gathered and gathered, but couldn't fire it yet. _Not yet, I need more power._

Cinque and Dieci used a combination attack to hit the enemy. It was returned in full by Zafira, who used his special attack. "Steel Yoke." She said, and a dozen gray pillars shot down at them. Cinque could only deflect eleven of them, the last one headed toward Teana.

She was still in the middle of casting Starlight Breaker, so it would be impossible to use a defensive spell now. Dieci tried to shoot it, but missed, and then cursed herself. Teana quickly closed her eyes, not wanting to see the pillar smash into her.

Much to the Number's surprise, a black beam intercepted it and reduced it to nothing. They cried and Teana opened her eyes as she heard a familiar spell.

"Divine Buster." Another black jet of energy shot out at Zafira and Shamal, who put up a barrier, but were quickly overwhelmed by the strength of the attack. The two of them were blasted away and sent flying.

Like the last time, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the direction of the attack. The remaining Wolkenritter retreated and got to a safe distance, Reinforce and Vita even separated.

Coming in from the distance, barely walking, was Nanoha, who used her weapon as a support.

"Nanoha!" Fate cried and started to fly to her. Nanoha legs gave out then, but she was caught by her friend, who supported her. "What are you doing out here, are you crazy!"

"Maybe a little, Fate-chan, nyahahaha~." Even though she joked, Nanoha could feel her heart pulsing with pain. She pushed herself too far, which was evident by the fact that she could no longer walk. Fate wanted to take her back inside, even though she had heard the explosions a while ago.

Suddenly, Nanoha's eyes widened. "Look out..." Fate felt something coming and jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding a black spear.

They heard a chuckle from above. Along with the Wolkenritter, the white-haired mage was there again. The eight mages on the ground grouped together. Vivio helped Fate hold onto Nanoha during this standoff, the second one in three days.

"I hope you all enjoyed the show, it was certainly spectacular." He clapped his hands, as if he was amused, even though there was no expression on his face.

"Who are you?" Teana said, taking command of the situation.

"You may call me Weiss, though it wont matter soon." He snapped his fingers, a small portal appeared behind him. "Enjoy this peaceful moment, for it will be the last one you will have." Weiss started to float backward, it looked like he was leaving.

"I don't think so." Teana said angrily. Using high speed movement, Everyone except for Fate, Nanoha and Vivio quickly made their way up, surrounding them from all sides. "You are under arrest, now come quietly."

Weiss, who had not shown any emotion before this, smiled. "Interesting, you believe that you have the power to stop me. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can stand against the power of darkness." He closed the portal, and then snapped his fingers again, a burst of dark energy emitted from him and blasted away all of the mages. They recovered fast, but made no move to attack. He casually sighed.

"Since you have put on such a lovely show, I shall tell you what I have in store for you." With a wave of the dagger, a dark cloud of smoke appears, it covers everything, swallowing them all. Weiss, using the power of the dagger, showed them a vision. There was a battlefield, where two powerful forces collided, using all kinds of magical and mass-based means of attack.

"Welcome to Al-Hazard." The name rung a bell for everyone, but for Fate, it had the most impact.

"Al-Hazard... is real?" Fate couldn't believe it, that distant place that her mother causes so much pain for, it was actually real.

"Be happy, you are witnessing its destruction." As the battle raged, the leaders of the two sides fought one another, they were twins and yet they still clashed blades. "You are seeing the battle between Raius, the king of Al-Hazard, and his brother, the great ruler of darkness, Raios."

Everyone was to stunned to say anything about what they were seeing. In the first place, they couldn't move their bodies, it was like they were being bound by an unknown magic. All they could do was watch and listen.

Eventually, the scene changed, and it depicted Raius sealing away Raios within a dagger, the same dagger that Weiss possessed. "This dagger, which was passed along throughout the generations, houses the spirit of Raios, who was sealed within by his brother, losing his life in the process." After that, a dimensional rip in space started to tear apart the world, and quickly swallowed it, bringing it into oblivion. "Because of that war, the greatest civilization even known, was destroyed, leaving nothing but this dagger."

Everything turned pitch black, and they were finally released from the spell. Once again they were outside of TSAB headquarters. Weiss held the dagger affectionately. "In order to free the great ruler, I am going to break the seal and bring Raios back, so that he may rule this universe, as he rightfully should."

Weiss used the dagger, and suddenly attacked Teana, as well as the mages who had surrounded him. One by one, they were hit by a powerful blast before they could do anything, and fell to the ground one after another. All that was left was Nanoha, Fate and Vivio. The child released herself from them, and created several rainbow balls, throwing them at Weiss.

"Futile." He easily stopped it with a dark barrier. He then pointed his weapon at her, and took her down as well. She landed right beside Fate who called her name, but got no response. She, like everyone else, was fading in and out of consciousness. "Now, I shall take care of you, and be on my way."

He shot a dark beam at Fate, who dropped Nanoha and used Bardiche to intercept it. It wasn't strong enough to break through her device, but it still knocked her back. Now it was just Nanoha.

"I wont forgive you." She said, standing on her shaky legs. She pointed Raising Heart at Weiss. "Starlight..." Black energy started to gather toward her, forming a dark ball. She should have questioned why it had taken on that color, but was too preoccupied by her growing anger.

"Oh?" Weiss remembered then, that she was the same mage that he stabbed days earlier, the same one that he infected with the power of darkness. "I see. Good, excellent, let the power of darkness flow through you." He used the dagger, and as a show of his own power, fired another attack.

Nanoha was finished preparing, and was ready to fire. "I wont forgive you for hurting my friends. STARLIGHT BREAKER!" A massive wave of black energy shot from Raising Heart. It was so large that it overtook Weiss attack, easily pushing it back.

He was only surprised for a moment, before putting up a barrier. That too, was completely overpowered, and destroyed upon impact. It hit him. At the very last moment, he moved enough, where it only hit his shoulder, though it took a large chunk of it away.

After the attack, Nanoha collapsed to her knees, using Raising Heart to keep herself from falling on her face. Her heart was pulsing quickly, it felt like she was having a heart attack.

And then her linker core went berserk. Dark energy started to explode out of her chest, she screamed in agony, clutching her chest as it burned.

"Nanoha..." Fate, the only one still able to stand up, moved slowly toward her. She wasn't fast enough. Nanoha passed out then, her device going back to its original form.

"Wonderful, she's perfect." Weiss, teleporting, got to Nanoha before Fate. He picked her up and cradled her, teleporting back to the Wolkenritter.

"Let her go!" Fate said, getting ready to go to the air, even though it would be her against six.

"I'm afraid that I really must be going. After I've spread darkness to everyone's heart, and broken the seal, I shall be able to use this girl. With a little fine tuning, she will become the perfect Vessel for Raios' spirit." Once again, he opened a portal,the Wolkenritter and Reinforce disappeared into it.

"Give her back!" Weiss only smiled even more.

"Do not worry, you'll see her again very soon. Until then, this is goodbye." He took Nanoha into the portal, and it vanished.

Be it from exhaustion, or stress, or maybe something else entirely, Fate felt all the strength draining from her then. She collapsed beside Vivio, and passed out along with everyone else. The mages of the TSAB had been completely defeated.

However, things were only going to get worse from then on. Once the battle was over; Largo Kiel, Leone Phils and Midget Crowbel awoke in a room, which looked like it had been put through a blender. As they opened their eyes, they revealed an emptiness in them, as if they were swallowed by darkness.

* * *

_A/N: I realize that Hayate was mostly absent this chapter, that was sort of an oversight on my part. Do not worry, she appears much more from this point on, as she isn't out of the fight just yet. _


	5. Martial Law – The New Order

_A/N: Hello everybody. Sorry that I've been taking so long, I was in Toronto Monday and Tuesday, so I wasn't able to write anything until yesterday. I have settled everything with my personal life, so I should be able to update much more quickly next time. Speaking of that, we have a new chapter ready to go. Things might get a little confusing here, but it will all be explained in due time. It may seem soon, but after this, there are only two more chapters left, and then the epilogue. At least the final chapter will be long as hell and packed full of action, as well as some other things. So until the next chapter, please enjoy this one. _

_- Kode-Dekka  
_

**

* * *

Chapter** 4:

Martial** Law **– The New **Order**

* * *

For two days, all those hit by the dark power of the dagger remained unconscious. The only one who remained awake was Fate, however she spent more time wallowing in her despair than watching over the others. In the first place, there was absolutely nothing she could for for any of them, not even for Vivio; because of that she felt useless.

And then there was Nanoha, who had been taken off somewhere by the enemy. That was her biggest regret, not being able to protect the one she loved then most. Being taken over by this guilt, Fate hardly spoke during those two days, and left everything to Hayate and Shari.

Those two looked after the others, and analyzed them. Unlike Nanoha, they hadn't been touched directly by the dagger, so their barrier jackets protected them from whatever was corrupting her linker core.

As far as past experiences went, this was their darkest hour; those two days were the most excruciating that they've ever experienced.

However, it was only going to get darker from now on.

* * *

In the Valley of The Kings, Weiss stood before Nanoha, her body held against a wall by magical chains. She was awake now, and gritted through her pain, showing him her eyes, which burned with contempt.

"You'll pay for this." She said. He didn't answer with words, but just held the evil dagger against her chest; right away, terrible pain ravaged her body, and she couldn't help but let out a sharp gasp.

Behind him, Reinforce and the Wolkenritter stared blankly at her, watching without emotion. Nanoha tried pleading to them with her eyes, and speaking to them telepathically, but her voice didn't reach them.

Without warning, Weiss plunged the dagger completely into her chest, she cried in pain again. She felt like it was reaching not just into her body, but her soul as well.

"Do not resist," He finally said, "Allow the darkness take over you."

"N-Never..." She was hardly able to reply now, the pain was becoming too great. Still, she couldn't give up, she wouldn't let herself give in to him.

"You're very strong, you'll make the perfect vessel. Once I've fully corrupted your linker core, and reinforced your body, you'll be ready to receive the great prince's spirit." She didn't understand what he was saying, it was all gibberish to her. She didn't care anyway, all she knew was that she had to hold on until someone rescued her, however long that would take. Keeping hope alive in her heart, she filled her eyes with as much determination as possible, making the message clear.

Weiss, seeing her resilience, simply smile and stuck the dagger in further.

At this point, he was merely torturing her, looking to push the woman to her limits. But at the request of the darkness in the dagger, he was to begin the next phase of the plan in the coming days. Now that he had corrupted the hearts of those in charge of the TSAB, it was would be an easy task to begin the corruption of Mid-Childa itself. And then, the rest of the universe.

* * *

On the third day since being attacked and defeated, everyone who was knocked out, started to wake up. The first was Teana, followed by Vivio, and soon the others awoke as well. Upon their awakening, they were looked over constantly by various doctors. There was no real damage done to them, and they would all be discharged that day with any luck.

There was some bad new however, and Hayate was the one to deliver it. As soon as everyone was awake, she called an emergency meeting with them. Fate was also present, but was very detached to the whole thing.

"Things are bad guys." Is what she said when she had all their attention. "Look at this." She held a portable holographic television in her hand, the image that appeared got a large gasp around the room.

"_We have received word that Nanoha Takamachi, a mage from non-administered planet #97, also known as Earth, has joined forces with the terrorist responsible for the recent attack of the Time-Space Administration Bureau's main headquarters..." _

"That's a bunch of crap!" Subaru shouted without restraint as soon as she heard the news report. No one told her to calm down as they shared the same sentiments about the whole thing. Though, Teana looked at Hayate closely.

"What is going on, didn't you tell them what happened?"

"I tried but no one would give me the time of day, as far as the TSAB is concerned, Nanoha-chan is a terrorist now." That made everyone's spirits sink, but it wasn't the worst that could happen, that occurred just seconds later.

"_We have just received a report from the TSAB's PR department. They have just issued an execution order on Takamachi, who has been elevated to threat level 6, the highest possible level. Similar orders have been placed on the following: Vita Yagami, Shamal Yagami, Signum Yagami, Zafira Yagami, and Reinforce Yagami; the unison device and familiars, belonging to Hayate Yagami, another member of the TSAB." _

At first no one believed what they were hearing, but it was all clear: If Nanoha or the Wolkenritter were captured, they would be put to death, punished for crimes that they didn't commit. Even Hayate was shocked at this news, she hadn't heard anything about it until that moment.

To make matters worse, outside the infirmary door, several footsteps could be heard and voices, it was a suspicious sound. Everyone waited in anticipation for whatever was going to happen. The TV buzzed then.

"_Urgent news! At this time, arrest warrants have been placed on the following members of the TSAB, who are currently being suspected of treason as well: Fate Harlaown Testarossa, Subaru Nakajima, Teana Lanster, Agito Yagami, Vivio Takamachi, Einhart Stratos, as well as the group of 12 cyborgs created by the imprisoned criminal, Jail Scaglietti, 7 of whom have been rehabilitated and hired by the TSAB. In addition to this, Hayate Yagami, and Carim Garcia, the leader of the Saint Church who has close connections to Miss Yagami, are also being investigated..." _

At that moment, a group of TSAB enforcers came in, holding devices at them and and ordering them to not make any sudden movements. Like the television has said, they were under arrest, not just them, even the Saint Church was being caught up in this madness.

Fate tried to get her brain working while the others panicked. Hayate was the worst, she was completely ignored despite her status, and even ridiculed as being "a brown nosing traitor". During this chaos, she finally came up with something. Even if Fate went to jail over this, she couldn't let Vivio.

"_Don't do it, Fate-chan." _Hayate, whom Fate had been conversing with internally, warned her against the plan forming in her head.

"_I have to, I can't let Vivio get caught up in this, whatever this is." _

Hayate bit her lip while the men came toward them.

"_Fine." _Without saying anything she rushed them, and was promptly hit by a stun spell. Fate used this chance to activate her own spell.

"Thunder Smasher!" She pointed her hand at the ground and fired, causing an explosion and a cloud of smoke to fill the room. She got to work right away.

"_Everyone, run away and go somewhere safe. We'll hold them off." _Vivio protested of course, but Fate didn't allow any discussion.

Shots fired through the smoke at them, Subaru and Teana were also hit and down for the count. Fate used a barrier to keep any further attacks from getting to the others, who were activating their devices.

When the smoke finally did clear, it was just Fate who was standing, though she was subdued quickly and put in handcuffs like the rest of her friends. Vivio, Einhart, and the two numbers escaped, leaving a large hole where the window used to be. More agents were called to pursue and a full out emergency alarm was blaring in the background.

All of a sudden, Auris Gaiz came into the room, grinning wider than anyone they've ever seen.

* * *

Back in the pocket dimension, Weiss watched on a monitor, the chaos ensuring at the TSAB. The mages who could have gotten in the way of his plans, and even the Saint Church have all been put out of commission. He couldn't rest yet though, as some of the mages escaped and have now gone underground, along with several others. At the very least, the more powerful ones were out of his way.

With that done, he could now move ahead. The fake execution orders that he had placed on his captured pawns, and the caged bird who still resisted him, those were all just the prelude to a much larger plot.

* * *

"_We have received a new report at this time." _As the Fate and the others were taken out of the infirmary, the TV - which had fallen to the ground, but still operated, started buzzing again. _"The TSAB, in accordance with the Prime Minister of Mid-Childa, have issued a state of emergency and declared martial law. Effective immediately, a curfew has been placed on all citizens. There will also be daily sweeps to determine if any are hiding the fugitives who escaped from TSAB headquarters just minutes ago..." _

Things had just gone from bad, to worse. In Mid-Childa, all hell was going to break loose, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

The captured mages were placed in cells, one for each of them; with the exception of Hayate, who was put in one together with Carim. All of their devices had been confiscated, and the prison has a powerful AMF in effect, effectively rendering them powerless.

Once left alone, everyone went into a frenzy. The two who shared a cell, just calmly sat against the walls across from each other.

"What have you gotten me into this time, Hayate?" Carim said, offering her a playful smile.

"Wish I knew myself, everything about this is fishy, and its pissing me off. I just hope Vivio and the others got away." Right then, Carim went over to Hayate and sat beside her, their shoulders touching.

"Whatever is going on, I hope that for our sakes, a solution will present itself."

"Me too. But right now, if I'm going to be stuck in prison, at least I have you to keep me company." Carim giggled, closing her eyes and leaning her head back.

"You're such a flirt, even in a situation like this."

"Yeah, that's me." The two of them became quiet, and listened to the sounds of their angry friends as they voiced their opinions of what to do from now on. Hayate thought quietly to herself, thinking deeply about a certain group of knights. _Don't worry you guys, I wont give up, no matter what._

* * *

Weiss removed his dagger from Nanoha's chest, she panted out of breath from all her screaming, sweat laced her face and her neck. "Had enough yet?" She looked up at him with exhausted eyes, but smiled fiercely.

"I-I'm just getting started."

"Very well, have it your way." He began torturing her again ruthlessly, and her yells of pain echoed in the room. He, or rather, the spirit in the dagger was enjoying her pain greatly. Weiss who is still just a puppet, could only do as he was told. His new orders were to begin the next phase of things, and begin making chaos in the streets of Mid-Childa.

"_Just a little more..." _The dagger cooed into his mind, _"A little more, and the end can begin..."_

_

* * *

__A/N: Just making a note on the Yagami family (including Agito). I thought it would make the broadcast thing easier if they shared the last name, which was done during A's so they could pose as Hayate's family. __Agito, at least in my universe, will be regarded as an official member of the family since she is Signum's partner and as seen in the latest chapter of Nanoha Vivid, does spend quite some time with the Yagami family. _

_Setting that aside, everything will become clear soon. Also if there are any factual problems besides the ones discussed above, let me know and I'll do my best to fix it. _


	6. The Great Escape From MidChilda

_A/N: So here we are, the second last official chapter. From the title, I'm sure you can what is going to happen. Anyway, after this, we'll have one super long, final chapter. Hopefully I can do a good job of it, writing battle scenes is probably my weakest link as a writer. Speaking of that, I've decided on my next project, or rather one of them. A story I wrote a while ago, very long, very complicated, and very messy. I made all kinds of mistakes in that one, so I'm going to be starting it all from scratch. 'Make a Little Wish' , my Nanoha x Gate Keepers crossover fic. The Nanohaverse has unlimited crossover potential, so hopefully I can better use it this time. _

_With that said, I'll leave you to your usual reading. _

_- Kode-Dekka_

* * *

Chapter 5:

The Great Escape From Mid-Childa

* * *

The days passed by slowly as Fate and her friends stayed locked in prison cells. None of their pleas of innocence were heard, and so they were completely ignored and left without any options. Their trials would be held in roughly four days, a week after they were first arrested. There was no doubt, whatever was going on, they had no chance of being declared "not guilty", especially by an organization that seems to have gone crazy.

The silver lining in all this was that Vivio and the others managed to get away, and judging by the fact that there were no new cell mates, they haven't been captured yet. Fate was at least grateful for that, she was fully prepared to accept responsibility for giving them that chance to escape; though the reality of it all was a bit depressing, she would likely be put to death over it. She tried not to think about that while she leaned against one of the walls of her cell, and instead just watched Hayate and Carim talk to each other. She noticed that they didn't seem all that worried and remained calm, even under such troubling circumstances.

Subaru and Teana also spoke to each other, but the two of them were doing nothing but fighting. The young enforcer was mad at her blue-haired friend, saying that she got in her way and was responsible for them getting hit so quickly in the chaos three days ago. Subaru retaliated, making it clear that Teana was the one in the way. All in all, it was quite amusing to Fate, though it wasn't the best time.

She slumped down on her butt, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her face against them. She sighed, feeling lonely all of a sudden; right now she longed for nothing more than to see Nanoha's face again. _If we ever get out of this, I'll..._ She stopped that line of thinking before it could finish. But then she smiled, allowing it to continue. _If we make it out of this, I'll tell her for sure, my honest feelings._

From across the corridor, in the cell shared by Hayate and Carim, the two of them were currently discussing the state of things.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Carim said, pointing to Fate.

"Not sure, what she did is about the same as confessing; if the higher ups, and that damn Auris Gaiz have their way, she'll probably be executed."

"And yet, you hardly seem worried at all, Hayate."

"Of course I am," She responded coolly, "Even so, I believe in Vivio-chan and the others, they'll definitely get help." Carim gave her a wave smile.

"Trusting your friends so deeply, having friends who share that trust, I'm quite envious." In an strange gesture, Hayate placed her hand over Carim's, surprising her.

"Did you forget, we're friends, aren't we?" She closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of that hand, and then indulged herself further in it.

"No, I certainly have not forgotten, my dear friend." The two of them became quiet, and once again began watching Fate, who had fully sunken her face into her knees by now.

* * *

There was just a week left until the lunar eclipse, the day when the seal on the dagger would be broken completely. For this entire time, Weiss has instituted the final touches of his plan. By placing Mid-Childa under martial law, he has riled up those who would find such actions unneeded. Exploiting the situation, he quickly put an end to the inevitable protests. Using the forces of the TSAB, he has completely plunged the world into fear and despair, thus opening their hearts up the darkness that he would soon unleash. All he must do now is use their technology to spread this power to everyone on the planet, and then across the galaxy, and finally the universe.

But there was one important task that had to be completed before that could happen. He must first break the will of Nanoha Takamachi, a key element in spreading further fear in the hearts of the people. It was at first thought to be an impossible thing to do, as she has a stronger spirit than first thought.

However, on this day, eight days before the big moment, he finally did it. Using the Book of Darkness to amplify his powers, he finally completely corrupted her linker core and snapped her will. Now she was nothing more than a living weapon, to be used as instructed by the dagger.

The proof that he had finally overcome her, came when he looked into her eyes, which were darker than the blackest pit. She made no sounds, and simply looked at him with empty eyes. Weiss snapped his fingers, releasing her from her chains, she fell down to her knees and stared at the floor.

"Stand, you empty vessel." Without any words, she did as she was told and got quickly to her feet. Whispering something, he made Raising Heart appear in his hand, though it had turned from a brilliant red jewel, into a pitch black sphere. "Here." He handed her the device and she took it, holding it up and looking at it curiously. Weiss smiled, the dagger glowed brightly, "Go, spread chaos in Mid-Childa." She looked at him, her gaze becoming cold.

"Yes, Master."

* * *

The time has come, it was time for the captured mages and the member of the church to receive judgment. The six of them stood in chains, and were presented before a judge, surrounded by a crowd of their TSAB peers. They were all stared at with contempt, as if they were the scum of the world.

They were seated next to each other, and offered one another worried glances. The judge hit his gavel and commanded silence.

"You all stand here today, accused of not only conspiracy, treason and acts of terrorism, but also contributing to the escape of wanted criminals. How do you plea to these charges?"

"Not guilty of course, you damned old geezer!" Subaru was the one to make the outburst, she was never one to have any restraint or tact. The courtroom went wild, but was quickly silenced by the judge.

"Very well, then lets begin."

* * *

The trial was a lost cause from the beginning. The lawyer tasked with defending them, only seemed to make things worse, almost like he was doing it on purpose. In the first place, the evidence gathered against them, was completely made up, it was obvious that they were being framed. Fate had a guess as to who was responsible for this; she figured that the man who took Nanoha, also managed to obtain power within the TSAB, no doubt thanks to Auris Gaiz, who was a member of the jury. This Weiss person, was trying to get them out of the picture for what he was trying to do, and it was working.

At the end of the trial, the jury went to deliberate, but everyone already knew what the result would be. Indeed, after only an hour, they reemerged, ready to deliver judgment.

"Have you finished already?" The judge was surprised at the speed.

"Yes we have, Your Honor." Auris said, wearing a cocky smile on her face. She looked right at Hayate, sending all of her contempt at the mage. "We find the defendants, gui-"

"Hold it right there!" A woman's voice interrupted them, coming from the entrance to the room. When everyone turned to see who it was, the person who was most surprised, was Fate herself.

"Mom!" Right there, Lindy Harlaown stood, glaring at not just the judge, but the jury as well. Once again, the room exploded into chaos, and it was up to the judge to quiet them.

"Order! Order! What is the meaning of this, Miss Harlaown?"

"I've come to save my daughter and her friends." The judge looked very annoyed, and red splotches appeared on his bald head.

"I'm afraid that this trial has already reached its conclusion, if you wish to file an appeal, please do it through normal means, _after _the jury has given their verdict." Lindy smiled smugly at them.

"It seems you misunderstand," She crossed her arms, and looked up at the ceiling. "Now!" Right away, the ceiling above was blasted apart by an unknown force, and debris came flying down.

"**Protection." **A monotonous voice said, and a barrier appeared above the six mages, shielding them from the falling concrete. As everyone scrambled to get out the way, a group of mages came flying in the room.

Vivio, Einhart, the seven reformed Numbers flooded inside, even Lutecia came, bringing Caro and Erio with them. The enforcers in the room reached for their devices, but Vivio and Einhart swooped in quickly, taking them all down with ease.

The Numbers freed their friends from their shackles. Hayate looked at them with relief. "What took you so long?"

"Traffic was killer." Nove said, grinning. "Now, lets get you guys out of here." Each one of them was picked up bridal style by one of the Numbers, leaving Cinque to defend them against the backup that would surely come.

And sure enough, more enforcers came in, blocking the entrance and nearly blasting Lindy's head off with a spell. Just like before, the Saint pair rushed in, tackling two of the enforcers and taking them for a ride. Erio, Caro and Lutecia used binding magic to keep the others in place while the Numbers went speeding past them with the fugitives. Lindy chased after them as they left the court.

"I didn't expect this when I woke up today." Fate said. She looked up ahead at Vivio, who flashed her a peace symbol.

"You have that girl to thank," Dieci calmly said as she held her, "She's the one who came up with everything; told everyone 'I'm going to save Fate-mama no matter what!', she's a good kid." Fate blushed and nodded.

"Yeah, she's just like her mama."

All of them busted out of the TSAB facility, flying away into the open skies. They were free, but there was still a problem.

"What about our devices?" Hayate stated, "We can't just leave them."

"Don't worry, we got them." Vivio responded, giving them a wide smile. "Shari-san should be waiting for us, we have to hurry." The rescue team nodded, leaving the others completely bewildered.

* * *

Shari was waiting for them inside of the Long Arch. It hadn't been completely destroyed by the first battle, though it was supposed to be heavily guarded. Everyone soon discovered what happened, when they saw all the TSAB agents unconscious outside.

They were finally let down and allowed to walk, where they met Shari at the transport center. The dimensional teleporter was already started up and ready to go. It was something recently built to make traveling between worlds a little easier, and now it looked like it was time to put it to good use.

"Hey guys, good to see everything went smoothly." The glasses girl greeted them, and then held out her hands, all six of their devices were there. Now that they were out of that AMF filled prison, their powers had returned, so they took back their devices. Fate clutched Bardiche in her hand, giving Shari a grateful look.

"Thanks, but wont you get in a lot of trouble for this?" She shook her head.

"You guys are getting out of here, and I'm coming with you until this is all over." No one tried to argue with her, they knew it would be safer if she came. Hayate gave her the thumbs up.

"Alright, so where are we going?" Shari adjusted her glasses, offering them a smile.

"Carnaaji."

* * *

When everyone arrived on Carnaaji, they were greeted immediately by Agito and Megane Alpine, who had some very bad news. "Come quick, things just got worse." They didn't even have time to catch their breaths before bring dragged inside her home.

The twenty-two of them gathered around the TV, where an image of destruction revealed itself.

"_This just in: In the wake of the recent escape of the six fugitive mages on trial, Nanoha Takamachi has also begun attacking the capital city of Cranagan just moments ago." _ The images changed to Nanoha, who was shooting black beams into the streets and buildings, causing untold destruction.

"Nanoha..." Fate didn't want to believe in what she was seeing, her Nanoha would never attack innocent people.

Hayate silently fumed in her head. _That bastard!_ She was referring to Weiss, who stole the Wolkenritter from her, and took over their minds, which she was sure was what he was doing to Nanoha right now.

That wasn't the end of things. All of a sudden, the TV broadcast was cut short. It went black for a moment, and then Weiss' face appeared.

"That's!..." The hate that Hayate was feeling multiplied upon seeing his face.

"Good afternoon, citizens of Mid-Childa." He said, his tone was cheerful, differing from the monotone he had before. He smiled, "I am the harbinger of the great prince of Al-Hazard, you may call me Weiss. From now on, you all belong to me. From this point on, you will all become sacrifices for his greatness' return." He held the ancient dagger in his hand. "So be good subjects, and become fine sacrifices to the darkness, okay?" And then he laughed, releasing his awful message unto the world, before the screen finally became black again.

When the reception finally returned, the capital city was in ruins. It cut to the TSAB headquarters, where Weiss ascended from the sky amongst the burning buildings.

* * *

_A/N: So yeah, shit just hit the fan. Also yes, I am shipping Hayate and Carim, :). _


	7. The Final Battle

_A/N: And so we've pretty much reached the end. I'm sorry I took so long, but 9000 words is a lot to write. Anyway, a lot goes on in this chapter. There is a lot of fighting, but I didn't write all of the fights, and just left brief summaries of some, it was becoming kind of a pain to do it since there were so many. Regardless, I still have quite a chapter for you, and I hope you enjoy it. A note: I changed the names of a few of Nanoha's techniques, just to fit in better with the whole darkness thing. I also, for the purpose of doing the ending, created a new type of binding technique. Besides that, there are few things that should be out of place, and I even threw in a homage to StrikerS. That said, thank you for reading, and await the epilogue, which will be coming in a few days. _

_- Kode-Dekka_

* * *

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: Corruption

Final Chapter:

The Final Battle Against The Strongest Darkness/ Thank You and Goodbye, Our Friends...

* * *

About three days after the broadcast, things took another turn for the worst. All of a sudden, citizens all over Mid-Childa were going crazy; they attacked each other, destroyed property, it was like they'd all gone completely insane.

To make matters worse, almost every day, Nanoha has soared through the skies spreading terror. It was hard for everyone to just watch without doing anything, especially for Fate. There was nothing they could do, not yet, they needed a plan of attack before they rushed back to fight Weiss.

That man had also been very busy. In those three days after he made his presence known, he came into the light, and took over the TSAB. Everything that was happening on Mid-Childa wasn't a coincidence, they knew that he had used the same mind control that he was using on Nanoha and the Wolkenritter. He was purposely causing panic in the streets, and then oppressing them with enforcers, all for some twisted plan that still wasn't even very clear to them.

Since the sum of their knowledge was little, they mostly spent those three days training, and coming up with a plan of taking Weiss down when they went back to Mid-Childa. Hayate, Carim and Lindy were the exceptions, since the first had no linker core, the second wasn't suited for battle, and the third was just a retired admiral who wouldn't be able to do much anymore. Those facts weighed heavily on their minds, though Carim was less bothered about it, she was never one to go into the battlefield after all.

Hayate hated it, feeling so useless, _being_ so useless. Not since she was crippled, had she felt so helpless. All she wanted to do was fight, tear Weiss apart with her bare hands for stealing away the things that were precious to her. But in the end, she couldn't do a thing, or so she thought...

* * *

While the mages and Numbers spared with each other, she just watched and sighed to herself. Carim and Lindy had gone inside for tea with Megane, and so it was just her.

"Hayate-san." Just as she was getting lost in thought, she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Shari, who looked very cheerful at the moment.

"What is it?" Taking off her glasses and wiping them off, she placed them back on her face, which was no longer cheery, but quite serious.

"Would you like to fly again?"

* * *

Everyone gathered around inside Megane's home at Shari's request. When they were all present, she unveiled something that she had been working on for a long time, but only just recently completed in the past few days.

It was a small, glowing white orb. It danced around in the air for a little bit, and then hovered in her hand.

"What is it?" Hayate immediate questioned, though everyone else looked at it as though they already knew. Shari adjusted her glasses.

"Its an artificial linker core."

"..." Hayate had heard about it, but never believed. An artificial linker core, for the purpose of turning ordinary people with no magical potential into TSAB soldiers. _Who would have thought that the rumors were true._

"That's right, Hayate-san." Shari said, as if reading her mind. "It was a top secret project, and secret for a reason, for its a highly unethical thing to do. The ultimate plan was to force all TSAB employees to have one, at least, those who couldn't originally use magic." And then, Shari's eyes became regretful, the look in them made the whole room cold. "I knew, for a very long time, what the TSAB was really trying to do all these years under the guise of peace. This thing here is the proof, that the Time-Space Administration Bureau was planning on becoming a full out dictatorship. Its already been in motion for a while, all this Weiss guy did was give them a good opportunity."

Teana, who strongly believed in the TSAB, let out a chuckle. "So what you're trying to say is, we've been working for the bad guys the whole time, is that right?"

"In a manner of speaking, that's correct. The TSAB's been waiting for a disaster like Weiss to come along, and now that he's here and has control, this is the perfect chance to seize power over everything."

The truth hit hard. All along, thinking that they've been fighting the good fight, they've just been helping a bunch of old guys take over the universe. And now Weiss was here, using all of the power the TSAB's accumulated to further his goal. It was quite a downer for the mages, who had devoted their lives to the TSAB.

Shari knew that, and now that she had gone rouge, and stolen the linker core that she was tasked with creating, she was free to tell everyone the truth. From this point on, it would all be up to them. Once they stopped Weiss' plot, it would be up to them to take the next step, and decide what they want to do with their lives.

But that isn't the full reason that she called this meeting. She still hadn't received an answer from Hayate, about whether or not she wanted to fly again. So she held the core out to her, looking at her sadly.

"If you want to fly again, this will let you. Its a replica of your stolen linker core, but not nearly as powerful. If you want it, then I'll implant it in you, and you'll become about an S ranked mage. Its also capable of unison with Agito, if that's what you'd like as well. The choice is all up to you, Hayate-san. If you don't want it, I'll destroy it right now."

The spotlight was on Hayate now. Just about everyone had something that they wanted to say to her, but they kept it all inside, not wanting to cloud her judgment.

Being completely honest with herself, Hayate would rather not be associated with such awful research. Knowing the truth about the TSAB, she no longer wanted any part of it. Still, she wanted to fly again, she didn't want to be useless anymore. Above all else, she wanted to save her family, and tear Weiss a new one. If selling her soul for a little while would let her do that, she was fine with selling her soul.

"Alright." Is all Hayate said, and the discussion ended there. Shari nodded and asked everyone to leave them alone. The group flooded out of the house, dispirited, but not defeated. They still had a fight ahead of them. Everything else? That could be dealt with afterward.

* * *

Weiss collapsed to his knees and breathed in heavily. Just seconds before, he had been using the TSAB's dimensional transporter to spread the darkness from the dagger to various worlds. It wasn't an easy task, even with the technology. To be frank, it was like creating a thousand clones of himself and sending them out, controlling them all at the same time. It required a lot of mana, and even more willpower.

However, he was finished for now. He must have corrupted at least a dozen more worlds in the past few days alone. Much like the citizens of Mid-Childa, the hearts of those on other worlds have succumbed to the darkness as well, and along with their hearts, their linker cores as well.

Despite his fatigue, he'd never felt more powerful. The more hearts that became corrupted, the stronger his power seemed to grow. And with Nanoha going on daily raids, inciting fear and hatred, his job was only getting easier.

"_Four more days..." _The voice in the dagger said.

Indeed. It was just four days until the lunar eclipse. When that event occurred, he would call together all the darkness that he's spread, and bring it all back into the dagger, breaking the seal. Thanks to the Book of Darkness, he had discovered the perfect method for doing so, and perfect way of transferring Raios' spirit into Nanoha. When the seal was finally broken, and the prince of Al-Hazard once again walked in the world of the living, then the real darkness would come. When he arrived, he would consume the whole universe with his powers.

Just four more days...

* * *

The linker core transplant was a complete success. At first Shari thought that Hayate's body would reject it, but everything turned out alright in the end. She was going to have to rest for a few days, to allow her body to adjust to it, though that was fine by her.

While Hayate slept, everyone else once again went back to training, except for Fate, who stared off into space by herself.

_Nanoha..._ She quietly thought. Her heart was aching. She was just sitting here, waiting, doing nothing, all while Nanoha was going out and hurting people. It made her feel guilty, but she knew that nothing could be done until Hayate was at full strength, so she endured it.

And so, another day passed, and the feelings of guilt only grew.

* * *

Finally, a week had passed since the mages had escaped their capture, and three since this whole thing started. In just a few hours, there was to be a lunar eclipse, and it gave everyone a bad feeling. Whatever was going to happen, it was going to happen today, they felt it.

But they were ready now. Hayate had fully recovered, and while she hasn't set up yet, she felt magic flowing in her body again, which was a good feeling that she missed dearly.

It was around 1 in the afternoon when a special TV report came on. Weiss had once again taken up airtime with his face.

As everyone gathered around the TV, he made his final proclamation.

"Dear citizens of Mid-Childa, the end has finally arrived. Very soon, the lunar eclipse will occur, and the ritual will begin. Once again, Raios, the true ruler of the universe, will walk amongst the living! But rejoice! You will all become energy for his return. Now, let us begin, the days of darkness!" The scene switched to the sky of Mid-Childa, which had started to go dark. The sun was the only thing that shinned through the clouds, but in just an hour, that wouldn't be the case anymore.

When it was over, there was a wave of understanding going around. They had to take Weiss down soon, it was now or never.

"Is everyone ready?" While Lindy, Carim, Megane and Shari stood a little away from them, the others gathered in a circle.

"We're ready." Hayate said.

"Okay, then good luck."

A transportation spell was cast by the ones left behind. A circle appeared under the mages, and light flowed up from the ground. With a wave from Megane, they vanished into the air, and were gone.

* * *

When the mages arrived on Mid-Childa, they found that they had been transported right to the TSAB's headquarters. Right away, before they even had time to relax, a round of applause greeted them.

"Welcome, welcome!" Weiss was standing a good 30 feet away from them. He wasn't alone, Nanoha, the Wolkenritter were also there, as well as many TSAB enforcers. There was even a surprise waiting for them; Yuuno, and even Arf were there, though they eyes were also completely empty from Weiss' brainwashing. "I see you all made it just in time for the eclipse."

"Cut the crap already." Hayate said, holding her device in her hand. "We're going to stop you right here, before you have time to do anything."

"I see, that's unfortunate." Was all he said in response. He snapped his fingers, Nanoha and the others suddenly started to move.

"Engage!" Fate said and took flight in the air. Nanoha also did so, it was obvious that the two of them would fight.

The Numbers, except for Cinque, set out to take down the many TSAB officers that were rushing. Caro sat back and provided support for them.

Erio, not wanting to miss out on a challenge, took on Signum.

Teana and Subaru, were both confronted by Vita and Reinforce Zwei.

Vivio and Einhart got stuck taking on Yuuno and Arf, while Lutecia and Cinque fought Zafira and Shamal.

Hayate and Agito were the only ones left, with Weiss being the only opponent.

"I've been waiting for this." She said, staring him down. He just grinned.

"What can a powerless human and her little pet possibly do."

"Lets find out, set up!" Much to Weiss' surprise, she became bathed in light, and her barrier jacket formed. Her device also transformed into a long staff, and a hat appeared on her head.

"Interesting. Even though I took your linker core, you managed to find a new trick."

Now that she transformed, Hayate had never felt better. _Alright, you can do this._ It was time, to get back everything that was stolen from her. "Agito, entertain him."

"Right." Agito flew in, and started throwing fireballs at Weiss.

"Insect." He stopped them all just a wave of his hand, and then retaliated by sending a dark beam at her.

"Crap." Agito was just barely able to move out the way. That was fine, she did her job.

"Approach from beyond, mistletoe branches, and become spears of the silver moon. Pierce it, Misteltien!" Hayate chanted, and pointed her device at him.

Spears of light started to come down from the sky, raining on Weiss, who was just able to stop them with a barrier. However, even as he stopped them, the shield started to become petrified, as it started to turn to stone. Not wasting any time, Hayate began her next attack.

"Atem des Eises!" A swirl of blue floated around the device, and then shot at Weiss, who was still in the process of letting down his barrier. It hit him directly and his body started to become covered by ice.

"Tsk." He clicked his tongue and blasted at his feet, freeing himself. "Not bad, but I'm afraid the game is over." He shot a black burst of energy at Hayate. She flew into the air and dodged it, Agito came to her side as well. "Agito." The small girl nodded and they touched hands. "Unison!" If they were going to win this battle, they would need more power, and unison was the perfect way to do it.

As Hayate absorbed Agito, her hair turned a blazing red, her barrier jacket also became orange in color. A pair of fiery wings sprouted from her back. Her eyes, which burned with the same red intensity, looked down at Weiss, who wasn't expressing any kind of emotion, and just looked back up at her.

It was all within her grasp, her precious things. "Here I come, you bastard!" Hayate blasted through the air and raised Schwertkreuz, ready to bring it down on him the second she got close.

* * *

Nanoha and Fate suspended themselves in the air, just gazing at each other. It had been a long time since they last looked at each other like this, as enemies. It was kind of ironic, back then when they were children, Nanoha had saved Fate from herself and from the control of her mother, and now it was her turn to do the same. Her debt to Nanoha, Fate was going to repay it, starting now.

"I don't know if you can hear me," Fate said, her eyes twinging with sadness, "I just want you to know, I'm going to save you, Nanoha." The blond thought about it no more and moved forward, speeding toward Nanoha.

Bardiche clashed against Raising Heart violently. The two mages were now face to face, struggling to overpower one another. "If you can hear me Nanoha, then snap out of it, say something." Nanoha said absolutely nothing at all, and just pulled back, coming in to strike again.

Fate with her speed, which was always superior to Nanoha's, quickly flew away, and then transported herself behind the woman using sonic move. As she swung her device again, she remembered how Signum stopped this kind of sneak attack without looking.

Nanoha was different, and didn't block it, she just completely disappeared altogether. Only having a moment to process it, she heard a chant from her side and quickly titled her eyes to the right, where Nanoha was, pointing Raising Heart in her direction.

"Stardust Cruiser." An explosion of black energy came from Raising Heart. Fate held Bardiche in front of her and stopped the attack, though it propelled her away. As she withstood it, a crack appeared on her device. If she didn't so something soon, it would completely shatter to pieces. _Incredible!  
_

Fate, while still enduring the blast, took on hand off Bardiche and held it at Nanoha. _I only have one chance..._ "Thunder Fall." From the sky, a bolt of lightning shot down at Nanoha, who became distracted enough to release her attack and get out the way. _Now!_ Moving at sonic speed, Fate sped at Nanoha for the second time.

She had a clear shot. Nanoha noticed her coming, but made no move to defend herself and just remained still. As she swung Bardiche at Nanoha, the woman's lips moved. "Fate-chan..." Fate halted her attack just before impact, and stared blankly at her friend.

"Nano..." Nanoha's hand pressed against Fate, and then she looked at the blond with cold eyes. A burst of dark energy hit Fate and sent her sailing through the air. She recovered, though she was in terrible pain from that attack. _Damn...it..._ She hadn't expected that, and now she was paying the price for it. But things only got worse from there, as Fate glanced up at Nanoha, who was gathering the scattered particles of magic in the air.

"Daybreak Annihilator..." A massive wave of darkness shot from Raising Heart, and threatened to consume Fate in mere moments.

"Protection..." She whispered weakly as the attack came closer and closer. In just a second, her fate would be decided...

* * *

Erio and Signum clashed under the dark sky. His spear fought tirelessly against her sword. Just like the many times before during training, they swung at each other with savage accuracy. Unlike training, they couldn't afford to make mistakes, it could mean their death.

Erio was losing this battle. Even though he's grown stronger over the years, he was still nothing compared to Signum, especially now since she was getting a boost in power from the mage controlling her. That didn't mean he was going to give up, it just meant that it would be a little harder to win.

"**Zanber Blade" **From Strada's tip, a electric yellow blade came. If you're going to fight a blade, its best to use one as well.

"I'm sorry, Signum-san." He said under his breath as she came flying in at him. Once again they clashed, but he was far more prepared this time, and repelled her with a little force, then struck at her with a stabbing motion. He wasn't trying to hurt her, but if he wanted to win this battle, he had to put her on the defensive.

Rapidly, he stabbed at Signum, giving her only time to block, leaving no opportunity to counterattack. As he assaulted her, he loaded a cartridge into Strada.

"**Luftmesser."** Erio backed away and swung Strada, and threw blades of wind at Signum. While she was distracted with deflecting the attacks, he loaded another cartridge. Pointing his device at her, a magic circle appeared in it.

"Thunder Rage!" Using a spell that he learned from Fate, he blasted Signum with a strong lightning attack. It worked like a charm and hit her without resistance. Without a cry, a scream, or even a word, Signum fell down toward the ground, colliding into it and being smothered by the smoke caused through the impact.

"Whew..." He wiped the sweat from his brow and lowered his guard. _Even if she's strong, no one could take a direct hit like that. _

Just then, an arrow of light pierced through the smoke and zipped toward him."Crap!" He swung Strada, which still had a blade extending from it, and used it to block the arrow. The force of it was incredible, and unlike anything he'd felt before. The Zanber Blade crumbled under the pressure and broke, allowing the arrow to hit him in the shoulder. To prevent extensive damage from being done to his body, his barrier jacket self-destructed and absorbed the shock of the arrow.

Erio escaped from that brush relatively unharmed, with just a small pain in his right shoulder. Looking down he saw Signum; blood streamed down her face, but she didn't even looked fazed. Her device had formed a bow, and it was now pointed in his direction. By the time he processed the moment, another arrow of light was coming his way.

* * *

TSAB soldiers were being taken down all around Subaru and Teana. The Numbers were providing good cover fire for them while they fought Vita and Reinforce Zwei. Rein wasn't much of a problem, her mage rank by herself was only A+, and Vita's, AAA+. It shouldn't have been a big deal, Teana and Subaru were both AA, so it balanced out; that didn't make it any less of a hassle for them.

However, thanks to Subaru's speed, they still had the upper hand. "Divine Buster!" The blue haired girl danced around the air on her Wing Road, and then came from behind, launching her most powerful attack at Vita. The small knight stopped it easily with a barrier; that only gave Subaru the time to come in close. "Barrier Break." She dug her fingers into the shield, and started to pry it apart. Vita, even in her state, was somewhat surprised, and didn't have time to stop the second Divine Buster from coming when Subaru was through the barrier.

Teana's battle was a little more difficult. She could shoot several bullets from her gun, or even one string blast, but Reinforce could fire so many more that it was hard to keep up. _Damn it,_ she thought, clicking her tongue as she moved quickly out of the way of several ice daggers.

Vita came flying down in a heap of smoke all of a sudden, Subaru following behind, that distracted her greatly, and allowed Rein another chance to best her.

"**Protection." **A shield stopped the icy daggers from turning Teana into Swiss cheese, for which she was grateful. _If I'm going to win, I need to get a clear shot with my Starlight Breaker._ It was her most powerful attack, and would surely take even Reinforce down in a single shot. But it was an impractical attack at the moment, as there was no time to cast it. She needed a distraction, one that could buy her the time. Teana had only one spell that would do the trick, but it was incredibly difficult to use while in combat. She started to pound her brain, thinking of a way to do this.

Subaru came to her side, her barrier jacket slightly scorched. "You're spacing out, look." At some point, Reinforce disappeared, and was now standing with Vita. She didn't like that feeling, and when the two of them started to glow, the bad feeling was confirmed.

Once again, Vita and Reinforce did a unison. It was no secret that her power would now exceed theirs even more, rising up past S. However Teana, seeing that it was only a single target now, with two of them, had a great idea.

"Subaru, give me some support."

"Got it, Tea!" Subaru flew into the sky at Vita, whose hammer had grown in size. When the two powers came together, it was Subaru was was sent backward, but she recovered and went back in.

Teana, using this chance, started casting one of her favorite spells. "Fake Silhouettes." A copy of her was born, and stood there with her guns pointed at Vita. The real Teana used high speed movement to disappear before she was found out.

Subaru watched her friend for a moment, and grinned as she provided a good distraction. _That's Tea for you._

The Teana on the ground started to cast a spell, a familiar one, and a ball of energy started to gather in front of her. More and more magic gathered together, and finally Vita paid attention.

"Kometen Fliegen." She said when swatting away Subaru. A large red ball appeared in front of her, and she smashed it toward Teana. The fake on the ground made no moves, and was hit directly by it, vanishing into thin air.

Subaru then came back at full force, pulling her fist back. "Revolver..." Vita put up a shield in front of her, "Cannon!" Subaru punched the barrier, knowing that she couldn't break through it with just that. It was all just another distraction.

"Starlight..." From behind Vita, Teana's voice echoed. The knight had just enough time to turn her head, catching just a glimpse of the mage. "Breaker!" A huge pink blast of energy came toward her at close range. Subaru ducked and got out the way as Vita was completely engulfed by it.

Vita and Reinforce fell out of the attack, their unison had ended, and the two were unconscious. Teana and Subaru caught them in midair, before they could hit the ground. Just in case they woke up looking for more trouble, they placed a bind on them as well.

Looking at each other, they smiled and high fived one another.

* * *

Caro had been mostly sitting on the sidelines for the duration of the fierce battle. Occasionally she bound TSAB officers, and and used her boost magic to help Lutecia and Cinque overwhelm Zafira and Shamal. Of all the knights, those two were by far the weakest, so it was just a matter of time before they went down, especially against three opponents.

And now, she had a job to do. Along with Lutecia, and their magic, they were going to help end things once and for all. Right now, she watched Erio being overpowered by Signum. Her heart ached, but she remained calm. She believed in him; and besides, whether anyone noticed it or not, the control that Weiss had over the knights was weakening.

The more Hayate fought him, the more magical energy he expended, and so he was starting to lose his grip on the Wolkenritter. Caro first noticed it when Shamal hesitated, even though she had a clear shot at Cinque. However, as long as Weiss had the Book of Darkness, the control wouldn't be broken. And for now, Caro and Lutecia were concentrating on something else.

They were preparing to cast multiple strength boost spells. The target was Hayate, but they couldn't enhance her strength yet, not until they were given the signal. So for now, they continued to wait, until the right time came.

* * *

Signum was holding back. Erio could feel it, each arrow felt less powerful than the last, and when she struck at him with her bare hands, she pulled the punch. _What's going on?_ Just a minute ago he was on the ropes, and then her power started decreasing.

But then he figured it out on his own. _She must be fighting back._ Even while battling him, Signum was still fighting the person controlling her, he was sure of it. _If that's the case..._ Erio was going to save his comrade here and now.

Erio sped away as fast as he could, he had to get some distance from her if he was going to finish things. Luckily for him, Signum did not follow, but did shoot more arrows at him. He dodged and weaved around them as he got more and more distance.

When he felt that he had enough, he held Strada in front of him.

"**Speerangriff." **His device said, and right away, he was like a rocket. The thrusters on Strada propelled him with intense speed. Signum, who was getting closer, fired several more arrows, and when that didn't work, she transformed Laevatein back into its sword form, preparing for his attack.

Within mere moments they collided, and Strada was blocked. Even so, he kept pushing forward, and a crack formed on the blade. _Now!_ "Thunder Rage!" A magic circle appeared between the two weapons. Like before, Erio used a powerful lightning attack, but at such close range the damage would be far more severe.

The lightning from Strada's tip ran down Laevatein, and sent the shock directly into Signum. She was blasted backward by the force of both attacks. Their fight was decided in that instant.

* * *

Vivio and Einhart were very bored. While everyone else was off fighting worthy opponents in this game to save the world, the two of them were stuck fighting a ferret and a dog. They didn't have anything against them, but Arf and Yuuno? To them, it was like fighting a fly with a cannon.

But, because those two were Nanoha and Fate's irreplaceable friends, Vivio decided to at least put them to sleep. "Divine Buster." She styled her version of this technique more after Subaru than her mama, but nonetheless, a rainbow colored blast of light jetted toward. Yuuno and Arf would have put up some kind of defense, but Einhart used a binding spell to keep them in place.

The low level mage and the familiar went down about as quickly as they came. Vivio let out a sigh, turning her attention toward her friend. "Its no fair, why did we have to fight them?" Einhart was about to answer her, telling her that this wasn't a joke, but Fate's voice flowed through the skies.

"Nanoha!" The pair looked in that direction, where Nanoha had extended Raising Heart down at a very severely wounded Fate. A small black spear protruded from the device, and it looked like Nanoha was ready to charge.

Without a moment's delay, Vivio flew off in that direction, just as Nanoha descended. "Fate-Mama!" She hoped her speed would carry her faster, and hoped above hope, that she wouldn't be too late.

* * *

Fate wasn't able to stop Nanoha's attack. It was like when they were children. She was exhausted, out of energy, and just when she thought it was the same for Nanoha, the girl rained pink hell on her. Just like that time, her spell blasted through Fate's barriers like they were nothing, and the darkness wrapped itself around her.

Fate, who had not felt this much pain since being whipped by her mother, cried as she hit the ground hard. She was never one to just sit down, even if she was beat. Even through all the pain, Fate was still conscious, and since that was the case, she managed to stand up, using Bardiche as a crutch. She breathed in heavily, blood ran down her face, down her body, there was so much that she had no idea where exactly it was coming from. Her vision was blurry, and she felt like she would fall at any moment. Even so, she looked right up at Nanoha, who stared down at her without a word.

"Nano...ha..." Somewhere in that possessed body was her beloved, somewhere in there was Nanoha.

Nanoha was finished just looking, and extended Raising Heart.

"Nanoha, I know you're in there..." A magic circled appeared under the brainwashed mage. "I don't care if my body breaks, I'll save you..."

"Darkstar..."

"I'll save you, because... I love you, Nanoha." Nanoha stopped chanting her next spell, and the magic circle disappeared. Finally thinking that she had broken through, Fate smiled. "You're my most important person, so please come back to me... Nanoha."

"Fate...chan..." Nanoha's eyes softened up, and a small amount of light formed in them. "Fate-chan..." Calling Fate's name again, she started to lower her arm.

"_You belong to me..." _A voice suddenly said into Nanoha's heart. Her linker core started to pulsate, and her heart became racked with pain. Just as she did before she became like this, Nanoha cried in agony.

"Nanoha..." The light disappeared from her eyes again, and she raised her arm back, pointing Raising Heart at Fate again.

"Darkstar Piercer." Black wings sprouted from Raising Heart, and a dark blade extended from the tip.

"Nanoha!" Fate cried once more, hoping to break through, but it was no use. Nanoha then started to fly toward her, holding out her device like a spear. Very soon, that blade would pierce through Fate's heart, and her life would end.

However, Fate was a lucky mage. Right before the attack hit her, the blade was grabbed barehanded by someone. When Fate and Nanoha's eyes checked to see, they found their daughter holding Raising Heart.

"I don't care if you are mama, I wont let you hurt Fate-mama." Right then, she twisted her wrist and snapped the blade in half. At the same time, Einhart came in, delivering a punch to Nanoha's chest, and knocking her back. Vivio, taking a quick glance at Fate, was horrified by the sight. "Fate-mama, this is terrible..."

"I'll be fine, Vivio, just a little tired." Fate said smiling, her eyes wandering to Nanoha, who had already recovered. "I'm sorry, can I leave her to you?" Vivio nodded and flashed her a smile.

"Leave it to me, I'll save mama." She looked at Einhart, she nodded, the two of them blitzed Nanoha at top speed.

Nanoha might be able to handle one S+ mage, but two was going to be a problem, even for the ace of aces.

Vivio came in, throwing rainbow colored balls of light at Nanoha, though the mage dodged them effortlessly. Those were just decoys. Einhart appeared from behind, giving her another punch, Nanoha was able to block this one; only to have Vivio hit her when she wasn't looking.

Clearly outmatched by speed and teamwork, Nanoha changed tactics, and started wildly shooting dark beams of light at them. Releasing one shot after another with almost no down time in between, not even Vivio and Einhart could dodge them all, and were forced to use barriers to protect themselves.

Unable to deflect her attacks, Nanoha kept using them and when the time was right, used her Axel Fin to flew around. Blasting away Einhart, she then focused on Vivio and decided to attack her directly. Nanoha swung Raising Heart like a bat and hit her daughter flying.

"_Help...me..."_

Vivio heard it for only a moment, and the voice was faint; but the second that they made contact, she definitely heard her mother's voice. Even if Nanoha's face wasn't showing anything, Vivio could see it in her eyes, she was asking for help. It was just like when they fought before, only it was Vivio who needed to be saved. But this time... _This time... I'll be the one to save you, mama!_

"Einhart-san!" Einhart gazed at Vivio. _"Please keep her still, I'm going to end it now." _The Belkan nodded, and took charge in attacking Nanoha. They fought, making for the perfect distraction. A large magic circle appeared under her. "Gather, sacred hearts of the night's sky."

Rainbow light started to gather into Vivio's fist, illuminating it. This was her final spell, one that she worked on together with Nanoha and Fate, and one that she honed in the week before this day. The particles of magic in the surrounding area started to gather as well, and became a part of her glowing fist.

Vivio's eyes flicked to Einhart, who took that as her cue. Closing her eyes, she cast a spell toward the incoming Nanoha. The ace of aces was bound by multiple magic rings. She struggled to break free, but Einhart was giving it everything she had, so it wouldn't be easy.

"Mama..." Vivio let her fist drop as she addressed her mother. A smile formed on the young girl's face. "This is going to hurt a bit, okay?" Nanoha's eyes opened wide, as if her words had woken her up from a nightmare.

She wanted to say something, but was unable to open her mouth. The painful tremors in her heart increased, but this time, she paid them no mind. With all the willpower she had, Nanoha smiled and closed her eyes.

Vivio went forward, closing the distance almost instantly. "Sacred Star Breaker!" Connecting her fist with Nanoha's chest, she released a powerful blast, which shot deep into her, and flooded out of her back. It was okay, this spell was designed not to cause too much damage to the body. Its real purpose, the one that she slaved for over a week to create, was to directly strike her linker core.

Even though it was painful, Nanoha did not cry out, and just let the energy rush through her. She felt an angry cry from in her heart, as if the darkness within was instead feeling her pain. And bit by bit, she also felt that darkness leaving her.

When it was over, Nanoha collapsed in Vivio's arms, she was aided by Einhart and the two of them supported her weight. Fate walked slowly, stumbling toward them with her aching and bleeding body. When she arrived, she fell to her knees, but dismissed Vivio's worries.

Nanoha's eyes fluttered a little, and slowly, her eyes opened. "Nanoha..." Fate smiled widely at her, and it was returned.

"Hello...Fate-chan. I'm...sorry... so forgive me, okay...?" She passed out again, and fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Hayate stumbled about, and did her best to weave out of the way of Weiss' next attack, but was struck in the shoulder, and sent toppling over to the ground. _"Hayate, are you okay!"_ Agito said from within her.

"I'm fine, this is nothing." She picked herself up just in time to dodge another attack. Looking all around her, she saw that everyone was done fighting, it was almost over. "Looks like you lost buddy." She said with a smirk. Weiss, who gave away none of the emotions he felt, dismissed her with a wave.

"They were mere tools, and have served their purpose. The eclipse is almost upon us, it will be here in just mere minutes." He was right, but Weiss was holding back information. Now that Nanoha was back to normal, and the darkness was removed from her, he had lost his vessel. But he wasn't worried, he still had a backup plan. That's why, he charged up the dagger, and shot his most powerful attack yet at Hayate.

She set up a barrier, and withstood the attack. _Just a little more, I just have to make it through this..._ Her shield was cracking, but she didn't care.

Through some kind of luck, she managed to make it through the brutal attack. Now, it was her turn. "Ready Agito?"

"_Thought you'd never ask." _

Launching herself in the air, Hayate raised her device above her. A Belkan triangle appeared both below and in front of her. "Resound, horn of judgment." She took Schwertkreuz, pulling back, ready to push it into the triangle.

"Its useless to defy me."

"We wont know until we try."

Hayate finally unleashed her attack, the most powerful one she knew. "Ragnarok!" From each point on the Belkan triangle, a white beam of light shot at Weiss. He set up his most powerful barrier to counteract it, and stopped the attack, but felt the weight of it crushing him.

Hayate wasn't done here. "I need more power. Help me out will ya, Caro-chan, Lutecia-chan."

"Right!" They cried from a distance. Finally, after putting all their magic into it, they both cast the strongest power boost spells that they could, and used it to amplify Hayate's Ragnarok.

Growing powerful beyond imagination, the white beams of light shattered Weiss' barriers. "Impossible!" He was hit by Hayate's attack without any kind of secondary defense or barrier jacket.

Weiss was swallowed up by the resulting explosion, and his charred body was blasted away. Before this, he had been holding unto the Book of Darkness, but now it floated through the air. Even his grip on the dagger loosened, but he did his best not to let go, even as fire racked his heart.

Hayate quickly flew toward the book. She separated from Agito just before reaching out to it. Immeasurable joy filled her heart as her fingers touched the binding. A white light came from the book when she made contact, and she felt a familiar magic filling her up.

Her artificial linker core was designed to assimilate with the real one when she regained the book, and so the two linker cores became one.

"Ah~!" She sighed contently. "It feels good to be back to my old self." Right away, as everyone gathered, she used her magic to give the Wolkenritter back some of their energy, enough to wake them up.

When they regained consciousness, and realized what was going on, the four of them, as well as Reinforce rushed their mistress. It was touching moment. However, things were just getting started.

At that moment, the sky started to grow even darker. A shrill laugh filled the air. Weiss was back on his feet, though clearly he was barely able to stand. Regardless, he laughed and raised the dagger into the air. "Its time, its finally time!"

The sky turned black as Mid-Childa overtook the sun and blocked its light. Even without the Book of Darkness, he could still complete his plans, and that time had come. "Gather, hearts of darkness!" From all of the downed TSAB officers and enforcers, small black orbs floated out of them, Yuuno and Arf were no exception. Being called by Weiss' voice, their linker cores started to gather toward the dagger. And from the skies, thousands more started to rain down.

"Everyone, stop him!" Hayate yelled, sending all the mages, and the numbers into action, though Nanoha and Fate were the exceptions as they weren't exactly in good shape.

"You're too late!" Black lightning came down from the sky, it surrounded Weiss, creating a shield for him. It also came down at everyone, there was little time to dodge, let alone attack. "Now," He said, raising the dagger even further toward the sky. "Come, be reborn, great Raios-sama! Let my body be your vessel!"

A bolt of lightning came and struck Weiss, though he remained unharmed. The dagger glowed, and a black ooze started to flow from it. There was nothing that anyone could do to stop it, they could only stand and watch as the ooze covered Weiss' body and overtook him.

"WRRRRRRRRRRRY!" A horrible cry pierced the air, it sounded like a dying animal. The black ooze grew to an even greater size, and soon started to morph into something else entirely.

No one was prepared for it, the large monster that was being created right before their eyes. Even if they didn't know it right now, this sort of thing had happened before.

During the Book of Darkness incident, the defense system of the book transformed into a monster. In Weiss' case, he was just not a suitable mage to contain the darkness and the spirit of Raios. His body couldn't handle it, and even though the entities inside the dagger were being reborn, they had no sustainable body, and were now becoming the large lump of black ooze and tentacles that they saw now. Weiss' face appeared on the beast, it was frozen with a look of terror.

"Wrrrrrrrrrry!" It cried again, and continued to mutate even further. And then, it started to move, heading toward a populated area, but not before shooting a pitch black beam at the TSAB headquarters, and turning it to rubble.

"This is bad..." Hayate made the understatement of the century as they watched it go.

"We have to stop it, it will destroy everything." Teana said, but she had no ideas about how to do that.

"How can we do anything like this?" Vita responded. They were all exhausted, and just about out of power, there was no way they could take out something that big. Even so, they knew that had to try.

"Give me a sec." Hayate said suddenly, opening the Book of Darkness, and searching through it. If there was a way of getting rid of that thing, she knew that it had to be in this book.

Sure enough, she found a way, a solution to seal away Raios and that monster forever. However, her eyes looked downcast, and she bit her lip angrily.

"What is it, Hayate." Fate said, being supported by Vivio again.

"I found a way to get rid of it, but you wont like it." Taking in a deep breath, Hayate sighed sadly. "We can use a special sealing spell. However, it requires not just an enormous amount of magical energy that surpasses the target, but the life force of that mage as well." In order words, Hayate was saying that someone was going to have to sacrifice themselves to seal that thing. There was a problem, even with that solution. "The way that thing is, I doubt a single one of us has enough magical power to use the seal."

As the dark monster crept away, everyone's hopes took a nosedive. "So what you're saying," Fate said, "You're telling us that there's nothing that we can do?" Hayate closed the book, and looked Fate seriously in the eyes.

"There is one way." Hayate was about to explain, but was interrupted by someone who should have been asleep.

"You means us...right?" Nanoha, who had finally regained consciousness, spoke softly, to which Hayate nodded.

"That's right. If its the three of us, then I'm sure we can do it. But, we would be using our linker cores themselves as the requirement. If we do this, we'll never be able to use magic again. And then there's the other requirement..." Even if they used their linker cores as a sacrifice, they would still have to give up their lives as well to complete the sealing spell.

That again made everyone depressed. It would be unreasonable to ask the three aces to give up their lives, there were too many people who depended on them. Still, something had to be done.

A group of four mages, and two unison devices used telepathy to talk to each other. They came to a decision, and knew that it was the only way.

"We'll do it, we'll give our lives for the spell." Signum said. The four Wolkenritter, Agito and Reinforce, had offered themselves up. "Together, we should be able to fulfill the requirement." Hayate's eyes opened wide, and she was almost speechless.

"Are you crazy! I can't ask you to do that, I refuse to allow that!" Hayate looked around to everyone for support, hoping that they would forbid it as well. No one spoke up, and just looked upon her with pity. They knew that they couldn't interfere with the Yagami family, this was not their battle to fight, so they remained silent. "No...no..."

"Mistress," Signum said, raising her voice a little louder. "We are your knights, and you are our master, it is our job to protect you."

"That's right." Shamal and Zafira said together.

"If we don't do something, they thing will destroy this whole planet, and maybe everything else too." Even Vita was agreeing with the others.

"If Signum is going, I'm going too." Agito said, though she was embarrassed to reveal her feelings on the matter.

"This is the only thing we can do for you now." Rein said sadly, "As knights of ancient Belka, it is our duty to stop this evil."

"But... I don't want this... I don't want to live in a world without you." Signum surprised everyone then, by embracing Hayate tightly.

"In a perfect world we would like to keep living with you as well. You gave our lives meaning, and showed us kindness unlike anything we ever knew before. That's why, this time, we'll repay the warmth that you've given us."

Tears started to stream down Hayate's face, she realized that they wouldn't back down, no matter what. As she cried, some of the others started to as well, like Subaru, who was comforted by Teana. Hayate looked down at the ground, and let her tears fall.

"Okay, I wont stop you..."

"Thank you, Hayate." Signum said her name, and let go of her, giving her a warm smile that was completely unlike her. And then, her eyes became cold, she returned to normal. "Now, let us finish this."

Hayate wiped at her eyes and nodded.

"Okay." She looked at Nanoha and Fate sharply, and they nodded.

"Everyone, wait here, it will be over before you know it." Fate and Nanoha, aided by Hayate, took to the skies. The Wolkenritter, Agito and Reinforce followed. Everyone else did as they were told and waved them off, waiting for their safe return. They also said a silent prayer for their friend who were about to give their lives up, and said their goodbyes in their hearts...

* * *

The monster was rampaging through the streets of Mid-Childa, causing destruction everywhere. As people ran for their lives, the mages landed near it. "Is everyone ready?" Signum said. Nanoha and Fate supported each other and nodded. The others nodded as well, and Hayate too, though she did it very reluctantly.

The knights and the unison devices then transformed, becoming balls of light, and shot out at the monster. When they were gone, the three remaining mages made their preparations as well.

"Raising Heart." Nanoha said, holding it at the monster.

"**All right." **

"Bardiche." Fate said, doing the same.

"**Yes, Sir." **

"Schwertkreuz..." Hayate whispered.

"**Acknowledged." **

"_Sealing Mode!" _They called at the same time, and their devices transformed into their sealing forms.

Hayate opened the Book of Darkness to the appropriate page, and began reading. "Light of heaven, shine and break through the darkness, give us your blessing, save us from this evil." A Belkan triangle appeared under her, and Mid-Childian magic circles under Fate and Nanoha.

Vita, Signum, Zafira, Shamal, Agito, and Reinforce; who were nothing but light, transformed into rings, which wrapped themselves around the monster, binding it. It was the most powerful method of binding possible for them, and it would need to hold long enough for the sealing spell to be cast.

"_Now Mistress, it wont hold." _Signum relayed to her telepathically. The monster struggled, crying as it tried to break free. The three ace mages once again looked at each other and nodded.

"Starlight Breaker." Nanoha chanted. A ball of light gathered toward Raising Heart.

"Plasma Zanber Smasher." Fate said slowly, she prepared herself.

"Ragnarok..." Hayate said, and a Belkan Triangle appeared in front of her.

Instead of just drawing mana from their linker cores, they used the sealing spell to bright them out. Their three linker cores floated out of their chests, and hovered at the tip of their devices.

"_One, two, here we go..." _They chanted together, and then leaving the rest to Hayate.

"Our lights, become beacons, break through evil, and save us from darkness."

The time had come, and as the monster struggled, the mages counted to three before unleashing their final attack.

"Seal it! TRIPLE BREAKER" Their three beams of magic shot from their devices, and combined into a single, rainbow colored light. It struck the monster, which then screamed in pain. The Wolkenritter, and the unison devices, transformed once again, and became a sealing circle that appeared on the monster's chest.

"WRRRRRRRRRY!" The monster cried again. Its body was starting to dissolve, being reduced to dust. As the seal spread through it, the presence of the Wolkenritter started to diminish.

"_This is it..." _Reinforce said, sorrow filling her voice.

"_Thank you, Mistress." _Signum said, _"Thank you for being born, and giving our lives value..." _

"_Goodbye, Hayate, we love you..." _Vita said as her voice faded.

More tears streamed down Hayate's face as the monster became completely engulfed by light.

"Thank you, Goodbye..."

The light spread, and soon, it swallowed up the three aces as well. Everything, was finally over..._  
_


	8. Six Years Later

_A/N: Another day, another story complete. When I first started this, I hoped it would turn out to be an epic thing to read, but alas, it somewhat never lived up to the great expectations I had for it. Still, it was a fun story to write, and its even more fun for me to read it. That said, this will bring the story to a complete resolution; you may not like it, but I hope you do :). And fear not, I have another story in the works, and its first chapter is already complete and ready. So I'll see you again, until next time. _

_- Kode-Dekka  
_

* * *

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: Corruption

Epilogue:

~6 Years Later~

* * *

The "Silver Dagger" incident, as it would later be called, turned out to be the worst disaster to ever befall Mid-Childa. A lot of homes were destroyed, lives lost, and that was only the ones known on Mid-Childa, it was impossible to figure out what Weiss did on other worlds. So in the end, the full scope of the incident would never be known.

On that day, there were many things lost, some that could never be replaced. The one who was most devastated was Hayate Yagami, who lost her family in order to seal away the dark power. She lost not only her family, but her magical powers as well, she was just a normal woman now. That didn't mean it was the end for her, but a new beginning.

In the six years that passed since the incident, the TSAB was shut down and dismantled. Knowledge of the unethical experiments, and weapons being developed got leaked, as well as the mass treachery that happened within. After being taken apart, the Saint Church, who was cleared in the mess, absorbed the organization. They joined with Mid-Childa, and have made a true peace keeping force, much different than the militant creature it was before. Hayate, after being cleared of her charges, was appointed a top level position. She would be working along side Carim to bring peace to all worlds. That kind of set up was fine by her, and she gladly accepted the position. But truth be told, its said that she did it in order to be with Carim, with whom she's formed a close bond, though she would never admit it.

As for the other two mages who save the world, they were not forgotten. Nanoha and Fate, with a little help from Hayate, managed to get Earth appointed as an administered world at last. At first there was a great panic from the earthlings over the discover of life, and the even vaster discoveries that awaited them; over time, everyone adjusted, and a new era in human history began.

Nanoha and Fate, who finally realized their feelings for each other after a few years, got married, and decided to open a cafe on Mid-Childa. The "Midoriya" cafe, named after the one the Takamachi's ran, was a huge success, especially among the younger crowd who had heard of the ex-mages' great achievements.

While the possibility of an artificial linker core existed, none of the three choose that path. It was something that was built with the worst intentions, so they would rather never use magic again, than continue where the project left off. Without their magical powers, they entrusted the future to the next generation. That was fine, those two have never been happier.

They weren't the only ones who achieved happiness in those six years. Erio and Caro, who had been in love with each other for a long time, tied the knot not long after Nanoha and Fate. Even though they were young, everyone already knew that it was a match made in heaven.

Vivio and Einhart finished school and became full time officers in the new peace keeping force, under the command of Teana and Subaru. Vivio's friends, Corona and Rio also joined shortly after. The two Belkan descendants also have been showing interest in each other as of late, but are too embarrassed to say anything. One day, once they've matured a little more, their friends hope they can finally end the madness and tension. For now, Corona and Rio are content with just teasing them.

The Numbers continued their work for the Saint Church, though from time to to they stop by Carnaaji to visit Lutecia and Megane.

Ultimately, despite the sacrifices made, all is well, and the adventure of life goes on.

* * *

Hayate was standing outside the Midoriya cafe. In just a few moments, she was going to enter, and have some tea with her best friends. But for right now, she was reminiscing of the past, particularly about a certain group of knights.

Six years have passed since her precious family gave up their lives for the sake of the world, and even now the wounds still hurt. Many times, she found herself lonely at night, feeling the noticeable absence of a small red-haired girl in her bed. Luckily, thanks to the love that she has received from Carim, those days have all but passed.

Still, she couldn't help but think about them, and the last things they said before they died. It was mostly what Signum said, about Hayate giving their lives meaning. What the Wolkenritter, what Rein and Agito didn't know, what she never told them; it was all backward, they were the ones that gave Hayate's life value. She never got the chance to say it, and so she always regretted that.

Hayate smiled, feeling silly all of a sudden. _That's right..._ Even if she couldn't tell them before, when they were alive, that doesn't mean she couldn't say it now. _Thank you all, you're the ones who made my life worth living. I love you..._ A few tears welled up in her eyes, but she suppressed the waterfall, and wiped them away. She couldn't start bawling outside a cafe, it would be bad for business.

Hayate pushed all her bad thoughts away, and locked her family back in her heart. She took a few steps forward, one after another, and entered the cafe.

"Welcome!" Nanoha and Fate said at the same time, quite cheerfully at that. When they saw Hayate, the smiles on their faces stretched as far as possible.

"Hey guys." She said and walked toward them. Her family may have disappeared, but her friends were still here. She didn't know what they would talk about while drinking tea, but it didn't matter. Right now she was happy, she was sure that her family was happy as well. For Hayate, that was all she could ever ask for.

_The End. _


End file.
